Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

On January 20, the European Parliament will vote at a plenary session in Strasbourg on an accelerated procedure for granting Ukraine a EUR 90 billion loan from the European Union in 2026–2027.

“I can only confirm that work is continuing at full speed, as before. Nothing has changed in this regard, and we continue to support Ukraine,” European Commission Spokesperson Anitta Hipper has assured that the crisis around Greenland will not affect the preparation of security guarantees for Ukraine from the EU and the USA.

The Ukraine-NATO Council meeting at the level of chiefs of general staffs will be held on January 21-22 at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.

In Poland, as part of a volunteer initiative “Warmth from Poland for Kyiv”, more than PLN 2.5 million has already been raised for generators for the Ukrainian capital.

rf

“This will create the illusion for russia that it can achieve something, or for us that we can achieve something... If someone wants to talk, we must have instruments of power. These tools are in the hands of Europe – this is the 20th package of sanctions, full responsibility of russia’s political leadership for the crimes committed,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys expressed skepticism about proposals to resume dialogue with russia.

Director of the State Security and Intelligence Service of Austria (DSN) Sylvia Mayer has stressed that the main espionage threat to Austria comes from russia. “This also affects us – through increased espionage activities. We are talking about influence operations and disinformation in Austria, as well as an increased risk of cyberattacks and sabotage,” said Mayer.

The European Union decreased its purchases of russian oil in November 2025 to a historic low. European companies reduced oil imports from russia 2.5 times on a monthly basis, to EUR 127.469 million. The European Union has never purchased less in a month, according to data available from the agency since 1988.

India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd is studying the possibility of purchasing Venezuelan oil as the company stops importing russian raw materials to comply with Western sanctions.

The German chain of DIY hypermarkets Obi Group is pleased that its former hypermarkets in russia will finally be renamed. The company fought for this in court for a few years after leaving the russian market due to russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The deficit of the rf’s federal budget reached a record 5.65 trillion rubles in 2025. In nominal terms, the hole in the treasury is the largest since at least 2006.

The share of refusals for preferential mortgages in russia may increase approximately threefold after the reduction in compensation to banks and reach 50-60%. The ministry of finance of the rf has reduced the amount of compensation to banks for loans issued under family, far eastern, and arctic mortgages from January 1, 2026. At the same time, according to other experts’ forecasts, the share of refusals by the end of this year may reach 75%.

The cargo turnover of russian seaports decreased by 0.4% at the end of 2025. Sanctions have complicated the logistics chain. Import cargoes decreased by 3.9%. Container cargo fell by 2.7%. Grain cargo showed a significant decline of 31.1%.

In 2025, 25% of russian employers reduced their staff numbers. Most organizations (51%) laid off 11–20% of their employees. The most common reason for the reductions was financial difficulties, which 66% of managers cited as the reason for their actions.

russian banks blocked up to 3 million cards and accounts of russians in the first weeks of the year. Customers are complaining en masse about such unjustified blockages. At this, the reasons for the restrictions are often not explained, and banks redirect inquiries to the Central Bank.

russia ranks 119th in the world in terms of the pace of artificial intelligence implementation in the economy. In the first half of last year, 7.6% of russians of working age used AI to solve work tasks, while in the second half, the figure was 8%. With the current indicator, russia is roughly on par with African countries such as Kenya (8.1%), Cameroon (7.8%), and the Central African Republic (7.8%).

The smartphone market in russia in 2025 shrank by 25% compared to the previous year.

Ferrous scrap metal supplies in russia in 2025 decreased by 33%.

russian developers have sharply increased their overdue loan debt amid financial difficulties. As of November 2025, the total figure rose to 279.3 billion rubles, up by 27% year-on-year. At this, the total volume of loans for construction amounted to 5.2 trillion rubles. It increased by 10% compared to last year, and the share of overdue loans in it rose to 5.4%.

The Cemros holding company froze two cement plants in belgorod and ulyanovsk regions. Another plant, located in lipetsk region, switched to limited production mode – now only the grinding and packaging workshops are operating there. The reason for these decisions was a sharp decline in demand for cement due to the decline in housing construction. Cheaper cements from belarus and Iran are putting additional pressure on the market.

Wholesale electricity prices for industry in the far east have repeatedly hit new highs since the beginning of the year, and end prices in 2026 may rise by 22%. The situation in the region is characterized by a decline in hydroelectric power generation amid high electricity consumption.

An increase in the price of coffee has been recorded in moscow. While a jar of instant coffee cost around 700 rubles before the New Year holidays, it can now cost up to 1,300 rubles. In the first month of 2026 alone, the price of this beverage increased by 15–20%. A kilogram of coffee now costs more than 4,000 rubles, which is the highest figure in recent years. Experts attribute this to global trends and changes in logistics. According to their forecasts, the price will continue to rise.

The year 2025 saw record growth in prices on the primary housing market in “old” moscow over the last five years. The annual increase was 29% – the highest figure for the entire period under review. In absolute terms, the average cost per square meter in “old” moscow (across all market segments) increased from 619,000 to 800,000 rubles over the year. For comparison, in 2021, prices rose by an average of 21%, in 2022 – by 5%, in 2023 – by 15%, and in 2024 – by 17%.

Micro-apartments on the secondary market in large cities of the rf rose in price by 12% over the year. According to the company, the average cost per square meter of apartments up to 32 square meters increased in 65 of the 70 cities surveyed.

In russia, 41% of acquittals are overturned and sent for review. Of the 716 appeals against acquittals, 530 were filed by prosecutors. 72% of lawyers were pressured to convince their clients to plead guilty. Another 53% of respondents said they were pressured to get their clients to testify.

The regions with the highest crime rates in russia is karelia (183 crimes per 10,000 inhabitants), the transbaikal territory (181), the altai republic (177), and the kamchatka territory (173). Crime rates rose in five regions: yaroslavl region, ingushetia, tyumen region, tyva, and yakutia.

Biathletes from belarus and russia will not participate in the Olympics, even under neutral status. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has published quotas for countries based on the number of athletes participating in the 2026 Olympic Games. belarus and russia have not received quotas.

Latvia has extended restrictions on flights near the border with belarus for another month.

Foreign trade turnover of investment goods in belarus in January–November 2025 amounted to $8,268.2 million, which is by 5.3% less than in the first 11 months of 2024 ($8,731.5 million). Exports amounted to $3,726.8 million (4,507.6 million; -17.3%), imports – $4,541.4 million (4,233.9 million; +7.5%), and the negative balance was $814.6 million (a year earlier it was positive – $283.7 million).

At the end of 2025, the volume of industrial product inventories in monetary terms in rubles in the rb amounted to 11,235.56 million rubles, which is by 29.3% more than in 2024 (8,689.777 million) and 2.2 times more than in 2020 (4,074 million). The worst dynamics in annual terms was recorded in grodno and mogilev regions – by 60.5% (from 1,050.563 million to 1,685.756 million) and by 45.1% (from 639.39 million to 928.036 million), respectively.