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

“... Ukraine will become a member of the European Union, I can guarantee that. And we in the European Commission view Ukraine’s membership in the EU as security, as a political pillar of security guarantees not only for Ukraine but also for Europe. Therefore, I am confident that there will be no deviations from Ukraine’s European integration,” said European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

The European Commission has announced EUR 145 million in emergency aid to Ukraine amid russia’s intensified attacks on energy infrastructure. The funds will be used to provide protection, housing, food, cash assistance, psychosocial support, access to water, and medical services for Ukrainians. The European Commission, together with the European Investment Bank (EIB), has also provided an additional EUR 50 million loan to the state-owned company Naftogaz of Ukraine.

Italy has delivered the first batch of energy aid to Ukraine. “...The first batch of 78 industrial boilers has been delivered, and another 300 will be delivered in the coming weeks, with a total thermal capacity of approximately 900 MW. The boilers are intended for damaged urban networks, hospitals, and essential services,” says the Italian government’s statement.

Germany has transferred two cogeneration plants to Ukraine for Kyiv’s needs. Another 42 cogeneration plants, 76 modular boiler rooms, and other energy equipment will be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible.

According to a statement from Poland’s Embassy in Ukraine, “The first batch of generators sent by Poland’s Government Agency for Strategic Reserves is already in Kyiv.”

“We must exert greater pressure on russia to achieve concessions from the russian side. As for security guarantees, it is very important that we provide tangible security guarantees to Ukraine. The Americans must also participate. If Ukrainians make very tough concessions, they do so in order to ensure peace for the rest of Ukraine. And then it must be absolutely clear that there is peace and that russia will not attack again,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

“As good as it is that negotiations are taking place in the United Arab Emirates, moscow’s willingness to compromise will only come when it feels that we are clearly on Ukraine’s side,” emphasized Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul.

“The strikes on civilian trains are a new low in putin’s cruelty in his war of aggression against Ukraine,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the FRG in a statement on russia’s drone attack on a passenger train in Kharkiv region.

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The European Union has imposed personal sanctions on a number of russian propagandists, including TV presenters yekaterina andreeva and pavel zarubin. The sanctions include a ban on entry into EU countries and the freezing of assets in European banks. Sanctions have also been imposed on sports commentator dmitry guberniev, “vesti” presenter maria sittel, rapper roman chumakov (zhigan), and ballet master sergei polunin.

The new, 20th package of the European Union’s sanctions against russia is to include particularly harsh measures against ships in the rf’s “shadow fleet”. This was announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barrot.

Sweden and Finland have proposed three components for the new, 20th package of the European Union’s sanctions against russia: a ban on maritime services for russian tankers and a halt to EU imports of russian fertilizers and exports of luxury goods from the EU to russia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna proposes to ban russian participants in the war against Ukraine from entering the Schengen area. He has also called for speeding up work on the 20th package of EU sanctions against russia.

While the war continues and russia attacks Ukraine, there is no reason to ease sanctions against moscow, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Petr Macečka.

The government of Lithuania has decided to extend national sanctions against belarus and russia until the end of 2027.

The Lithuanian government has also supported the proposal of the customs department and approved a ban on the entry of vehicles from belarus and russia into the country if their fuel tanks contain more than 200 liters of fuel.

In Lithuania, opposition conservatives are proposing amendments to the Constitution which would prohibit russian and belarusian citizens permanently residing in Lithuania from voting and being elected to municipal councils.

The government of Estonia has decided to withdraw from the agreement establishing the Secretariat of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being due to russia’s participation in it.

The Ministry of the Interior of Estonia proposes to ban the purchase of real estate by citizens of the rf and the rb without a long-term residence permit.

Minister of Justice of the FRG Stefanie Hubig is pushing for an amendment to the Criminal Code aimed at so-called “one-time agents”. The amendment is intended to counteract saboteurs acting on behalf of foreign states. According to the amendment, which was adopted this week by the Legal Affairs Committee, anyone who commits an intentional illegal act in Germany on behalf of a foreign state will be punished with imprisonment for up to five years or a fine. The same applies to any person who orders such an act. The creation of this new criminal offense is linked to the investigation of several cases of sabotage in which the orders are suspected to have come from russia.

Poland has refused to lift the entry ban and sanctions imposed on belarusian businessman valentin baiko, owner of “Conte Spa”, on the grounds that his presence threatens the security of the state and its international position. The reason for the restrictions was his membership in the so-called council of the republic of belarus, where he participated in the adoption of laws that restricted the rights and freedoms of citizens, in particular of the Polish minority.

russian businesses had barely gotten used to the VAT increase when government officials began discussing the introduction of new taxes and increases to existing ones in order to save the budget from the decline in oil and gas revenues, which accelerated sharply in early 2026. The ministry of finance has prepared a draft decree on the introduction of export duties on diamonds, a measure allegedly aimed at “supporting” the domestic lapidary industry.

Earlier, deputy minister of natural resources konstantin tsygankov announced an agreed decision to sharply increase fees charged to businesses for their impact on the environment. In metallurgy, these fees will increase 9-20 times in 2026-30, in gold mining – 15-25 times, and in the oil and gas sector – fivefold.

russia is presenting the refusal to buy its oil and gas as “building up reserves”. According to the results of 2025, russia had 640 million tons of “excess” oil and condensate and 670 billion cubic meters of gas.

Retailers and manufacturers have reduced their range of food products due to the decline in russians’ purchasing power. Chains are optimizing their product lines amid slowing sales, falling revenues, and shrinking retail space.

Almost 20% of dairy products in russia are counterfeit.

The price of office rent in russia rose sharply in 2025, which was particularly noticeable in moscow, where it increased by 40%. Across the country, the average increase was 10%. Against this background, demand fell by 25% compared to 2024.

russian residents surveyed believe that in categories such as automotive goods, small household appliances, and footwear, goods with an average cost of 5,000 rubles (about $65) are expensive.

The ministry of education and science of the rf has cut large research grants by 10% against the background of general budget cuts, which in 2026 also affected education and healthcare in the regions. The cuts affected the so-called hundred-million grants, which are programs to fund large scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development.

Amid the authorities’ calls to have more children, the number of obstetric beds in russia continues to decline. At the end of 2024, there were 48,200 inpatient beds for pregnant women in the country, which is by 4.2% fewer than in 2023 (50,300 beds) and by 7.8% fewer than in 2022 (52,300). At this, the number of available beds has been steadily declining since 1990, when there were about 122,700. Thus, in almost a quarter of a century, the number of beds for obstetrician-gynecologist patients has decreased almost 2.5 times. As a result, in 2024, there were 14.2 obstetric beds per 10,000 women, compared to 34.1 in 1990. In parallel, the number of women giving birth is also declining. In 2024, 1.12 million russian women completed their pregnancies, compared to 1.17 million in 2023 and 1.2 million in 2022. Compared to 1990 (1.89 million births), the number of women giving birth fell by 40.8%.

Five associations were recognized as “undesirable” in russia: the International Alliance of Libertarian Parties; Kafkas Vakfi (Caucasus Foundation) – a Turkish public foundation; Parliamentary Center – a Canadian non-governmental organization working in the field of developing parliamentarism and democratic institutions; Vigo Law Firm – a French law firm specializing in international law and human rights cases; Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives – a Canadian government grant program.

The ministry of internal affairs of the rf has recommended that citizens refrain from sharing personal information and their views in open chats, groups, and forums.