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

“We agreed to provide Ukraine with a EUR 90 billion loan, and this we also must deliver. A broken pipeline should not hold Ukraine’s defence hostage,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

“What we are seeing in the Middle East is in fact the same drones that attack Kyiv every day, and now they are attacking the Middle East,” she said, adding that Europe must be present at the negotiating table on peace in Ukraine and make serious demands on russia.

“...The fact that Iran is now facing this full-on pressure from Israel and the USA, will also undermine its ability to export chaos even to russia, and therefore to Ukraine,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Head of the Ukraine Investment Team at the European Investment Bank Matteo Rivellini has  said that the first closing of the EU Flagship Fund for Reconstruction of Ukraine is likely to take place at URC2026 in Gdansk, Poland, “with a significant amount”. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has announced the creation of the European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine on July 10, 2025. It was noted that the Fund aims to mobilize EUR500 million by the end of 2026, making strategic, results-oriented investments, primarily in equity capital.

The IAEA Board of Governors has adopted a resolution recognizing the direct implications for nuclear safety and security caused by russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius will visit Poland as part of a “missile tour” aimed at speeding up European defense production and ensuring the fast rearmament of Ukraine. “The aim is to ensure the timely rearmament of Ukraine, while helping member states such as Poland to intensify their own efforts to replenish stocks and strengthen their economies”, says the official statement.

The Czech Senate, in its resolution, has supported the idea of using Ukraine’s experience of warfare, especially in the field of air defense.

Slovenia has joined the Ukraine Energy Support Fund with a contribution of  EUR 500,000, bringing the total number of donors to 37. In total, the Fund has already received almost EUR1.849 billion from foreign partners.

The United Kingdom has allocated additional £800,000 to support Ukrainian culture.

As part of a broad support package, Germany has transferred 13 vehicles to “Ukrzaliznytsia” to help deal with the aftermath of russian shelling.

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Estonia will continue to insist on the need to ban russian soldiers who have fought or are fighting against Ukraine from entering the Schengen area. This was announced by the country’s Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Taro. “Estonia is already taking action. We have adopted 1,500 decisions to ban these former combatants from entering the country and are calling on the whole of Europe to take action, because this is not just a matter of our personal security, but, in our opinion, a huge security problem for the whole of Europe,” he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna has said that among the regimes friendly to russia, north korea and China are also waiting for their turn to be removed. The Minister has pointed out that among putin’s friends, some “are either already in Heaven or in Hell... or in prison”. “There remain  north korea, China, and a few others. But, in general, the point of this conversation, no joke, is that putin’s authority is falling”, said Tsahkna.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže has condemned the Venice Biennale’s decision to allow russia to open its pavilion. “russia cannot bomb Ukraine, kill civilians, and walk the red carpet at the Venice Biennale. This is a dangerous normalization of the aggressor. Until russia ends the war, there can be no “business as usual”, said Braže.

Official representatives of Austria, Romania and the United Kingdom will not attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympic Games. As of now, 14 countries and the European Union have decided to boycott the event.

russia’s GDP in January was by 2.1% lower than in January 2025. This is the first annual decline since March 2023.

Prices for russian oil shipped for export have risen along with global prices since the start of military operations in Iran, but there has been no increase in demand for it so far. Despite the suspension of supplies from ports in the Strait of Hormuz, buyers continue to demand huge discounts from russian exporters, as indicated by the widening discount. Urals crude is currently trading at by $30.9 per barrel less than Brent crude in Western ports. In mid-February, the discount was $28.6.

Electronics and auto parts may rise in price in russia by 15–30% in the next two months due to the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. All these goods arrive in russia via the UAE, which has become a transshipment point for parallel imports after the introduction of sanctions for the war against Ukraine. At this, the UAE sends container shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has fallen by 70%.

russian authorities are working on a mechanism for “external management” (expropriation) of the intellectual property rights of foreign companies that have left russia’s market. The temporary administrator will be able to issue licenses to russian manufacturers to use technologies or brands to produce products that are in demand on the market. There is virtually no other country that has a mechanism for using assets without the consent of the copyright holder.

In February, the rf’s ministry of finance spent 244.4 billion rubles from the national wealth fund to cover the budget deficit.

The first month of 2026 turned out to be the worst January in the last five years for russia’s agricultural machinery market. Sales fell by more than 40%,  while in terms of units, the decline in shipments reached 85% depending on the type. The reason is the drop in farmers’ incomes due to low grain prices.

The moscow stock exchange’s net profit for 2025 fell by 25%.

In January, avtovaz sold only 19,600 cars – by 29% fewer than a year ago. In February, sales continued to fall, reaching 19,000 units (-22.5%), and lada’s market share dropped to 23.8% from 31.5%. Against the background of plummeting sales, the company added to its price list a new budget configuration for the lada granta without air conditioning.

russians have begun to be blocked from leaving the country after the full-scale launch of the electronic summons register. Currently, all citizens who receive a summons are automatically banned from traveling abroad.

At least 91 russian universities and 112 secondary vocational education institutions are recruiting students for the occupying army.

The administration of moscow region has reported a reduction in the number of civil servants and state employees by almost 15% by the end of 2025. The cuts are taking place against the background of growing regional budget deficits.

The frunzensky district court of st. petersburg has banned websites offering to sell prohibited products – sprats from European Union countries.

Poland has extended the buffer zone on the border with belarus for another three months.

The issue of unemployment remains relevant in belarus. “There are still citizens who do not want to work”,  said head  of the council of the republic natalia kochanova. According to her, the struggle  against  “parasites is not just an economic task, it is a matter of social justice”.

belarus has been unable to resolve the problem of a shortage of doctors. The republic’s job database currently has about 3,000 vacancies for such specialists.