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

At its plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament voted to apply an urgent procedure to three draft laws that will facilitate the European Union’s provision of a EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine during 2026–2027.

“On the issue of arms procurement, our proposal remains largely unchanged. It stipulates that priority should be given to manufacturers from Ukraine itself, the European Union, and EEA/EFTA countries, as well as countries that have concluded SAFE agreements with the EU,” said European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis. He also assured that at the same time, a cascade principle applies, according to which deviations from these rules are possible if the necessary military equipment or spare parts cannot be produced and purchased in Europe.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the FRG Johann Wadephul has stressed that Germany will continue to support Ukraine in its fight against russia’s  aggression, and that the kremlin’s plans to break the resistance of Ukrainians must not succeed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Espen Barth Eide has said that Ukraine remains a priority for Europe.

Minister of Finance of Lithuania Kristupas Vaitiekūnas believes that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union will increase competition in the market and European consumers will benefit. According to him, Lithuania will continue to support Ukraine.

“We must ask the free world to continue putting pressure on russia. Unfortunately, this has not yielded results overnight, but the direction is absolutely correct. And I can assure you that European countries will remain on Ukraine’s side for as long as it takes,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of  Finland Elina Valtonen against the background of another large-scale russian shelling of Ukrainian regions.

In response to the russian attacks on Ukraine, partner countries continue to provide humanitarian aid to our state. In particular, in January, the EU decided to transfer to Ukraine 445 generators from rescEU stocks.

Italy has begun transferring about 80 industrial boilers with a capacity of 550 to 3,000 kW to communities with damaged or destroyed centralized heating systems.

Belgium has provided 22 mobile boiler rooms and three generators with a capacity of 200 kW and 40 kW for Kyiv, Odesa, and Fastiv.

The Czech Republic, through the Post Bellum organization, has delivered 36 generators to six cities in Ukraine, and the organization People in Need has signed an agreement to receive a grant of  EUR 850,000 for the purchase of energy equipment.

Romania has sent humanitarian aid worth about EUR 20,000, including battery stations and a diesel generator.

Georgia has donated nine industrial generators worth over $553,000 to Sumy region, while Armenia has given 10 mobile inverter generators for kindergartens, schools, and hospitals in frontline regions.

The authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan have sent another batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, which included 12 low-voltage panels, 11 generators, 5 transformers, and 27,000 meters of cables and wires.

Ukraine has received 39 units of industrial boiler equipment with a total capacity of almost 53 MW from Italy.

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President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda believes that russia is not ready for peace talks and will not give up its imperialist ambitions even if a peace agreement is reached.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has called on the International Criminal Court to consider issuing new arrest warrants for russian officials responsible for attacks on Ukraine’s energy system.

The government of Moldova has initiated the procedure for denouncing three basic agreements that form the basis of the country’s membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Mihai Popșoi. According to him, once these decisions are approved by Parliament, the Republic will legally cease to be a member state of the CIS.

The International Monetary Fund has again lowered its growth forecasts for russia’s economy. According to the IMF’s new January assessment, russian GDP will grow by only 0.8% in 2026, which is by 0.2 % less than the fund expected in October,  and  by 0.4 % less than the IMF’s forecast in January 2025. As a result, this year the russian economy will grow four times slower than the global economy (+3.3%) and three times slower than the US economy (2.4%). russia will lag behind China (which the IMF forecasts to grow by 4.5%)  5.6 times, and behind India – 8 times. The IMF estimates economic growth in russia at the end of last year at only 0.6% – that is, seven times slower than in 2024 (4.2%) and four times lower than the government’s initial forecast, which promised a 2.3% increase in GDP.

By the end of 2025, russian oil supplies to China had fallen by 7.14% compared to 2024.

Last year, Chinese companies’ tariffs for road transport in the rf were by one-third lower than those of russian market participants due to the excessive cost of international logistics. This helped the Chinese attract by 15% more orders for russian destinations. Servicing one vehicle per month with an average mileage of 13,000 kilometers costs transport companies from the PRC 624,000 rubles, while their russian competitors have to pay 936,000 rubles – by one-third more.

The rf’s federal budget’s revenues from oil and gas, which account for a fifth of the state treasury’s revenues, will fall by 0.37 trillion rubles (-46%) in January 2026 compared to January 2025.

Oil pumping to russian refineries in 2025 fell to its lowest level in 15 years.

russia’s businesses have raised prices for their services and goods after taxes were increased on January 1, 2026. Logistics companies adjusted their rates by 10-20% at once. In public catering, fitness, private medicine, and education, prices rose by an average of 8-10%, and in IT and digital services – by 5-7%.

Almost a third of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the rf  ended last year with large unpaid debts from their contractors. In December, 31% of companies had “significant overdue accounts receivable”. In particular, 12% of respondents had non-payments more than six months ago, and another 19% had debts overdue for more than six months. The amount of non-payments is growing: over the past three months, their amount has increased in 14% of companies.

russian businesses have begun to cancel salary indexation and cut employee bonuses even in the absence of a deterioration in financial performance.

In 2025, 25% of russian employers reduced their staff amid a sharp economic slowdown. In 51% of companies that made this decision, the number of employees decreased by 11-20%, and in another 18% – by 21-30%. The main reason for the cuts was financial difficulties, as stated by 66% of employers.

russian developers complain about prices in the construction market. “Construction materials are becoming more expensive, especially those items whose production has been suspended. Labor is becoming more expensive – people want to receive salaries that match prices. Depreciation of equipment, fuel, and lubricants – everything is becoming more expensive. Not evenly, some things faster, some slower. We are trying to keep the final price of housing from rising too much, but we cannot do this indefinitely. A little more, and it will simply become unprofitable to build,” developers admit. Over the past three months, the cost of housing construction in russia has increased by an average of 3.2%.

The cost of repairs in russia in 2026: cosmetic repairs – from 35,000 to 50,000 rubles per square meter; major repairs – from 60,000 to 90,000 rubles per square meter; turnkey repairs with a design project – from 100,000 to 150,000 rubles per square meter and above. The skilled craftsmen’s prices  have already increased by 15-25% over the year, and furniture prices in 2026 will increase by at least 10%.

In January–November 2025, sales of lamb in russia fell by 39% year-on-year in real terms, and of beef – by 6%. The number of sheep and goats fell by 7.4% over 11 months, to 2.6 million heads. Beef production fell by 4% over the same period. The number of small cattle has decreased by almost 12% since 2020.

According to the study for the fourth quarter of 2025, the share of counterfeit sneakers and trainers on russian marketplaces was 49%.

In 2025, roskomnadzor restricted access to 1.289 million materials on the Internet, which is by  59% more than a year earlier. In 2024, 810,500 materials were blocked.

russian state clinics are facing problems with repairing modern and new equipment. Due to sanctions restricting the supply of medical equipment and spare parts, the repair of broken CT and MRI machines can take up to a year. The problem is that almost 90% of the heavy medical equipment installed in russia is manufactured by companies from countries that have imposed export restrictions since 2022.

In January, 45 restaurants and bars closed in moscow. Compared to last year, the rate of closures has doubled. Since the end of 2025, the number of outlets in the capital has been reduced by “Shokoladnitsa” (minus 20 restaurants), “Rostiks” (25), and “Yakitoria” (8) chains. “Khleb Nasushchnyi” and the  Fornetto  pizzeria have completely left the market. The trend will continue in 2026, with at least 465 catering establishments, including large restaurants, ceasing operations in moscow. Such a scale can only be compared to the coronavirus pandemic period, when 455 establishments left the market due to restrictions. The crisis in the industry began in the second half of 2024 amid falling demand, as going to a restaurant became an “unaffordable luxury” for many russians. This year, pressure on businesses has intensified due to rising costs associated with the increase in VAT to 22%.

belarus’ GDP in 2025 grew by 1.3% compared to the previous year. This is much less than originally planned. The most important parameters of the forecast for the socio-economic development of belarus for 2025 assumed a rate of 4.1%. However, that was not achieved. The national economy, dependent on the russian market, was unable to find an alternative when sales in russia dropped sharply last year. The decline in industrial production is explained by the fall in demand in russia.

At least 22 foreigners convicted on political grounds are imprisoned in belarus. In total, at least 100 foreign citizens have been convicted under political articles since 2020. Among the prisoners there are citizens of russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, France, Latvia, and Poland. They are accused of “agent activity”,  “espionage”,  “promoting extremist activities”, “calls for sanctions” “participation in actions that grossly violate public order”,  “discrediting belarus”,  “terrorist acts”, and even “international terrorism”.