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

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has said that the European Union should speed up the process of admitting new members, including Ukraine, Montenegro, and other candidate countries awaiting accession.

President of the European Council António Costa hopes that the European Union will fulfill its commitment to provide Ukraine with a EUR 90 billion loan, continue existing sanctions against russia, and adopt new ones.

“We will provide this loan one way or another,” – European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has assured that the European Union will fulfill its promise to provide Ukraine with a loan of EUR 90 billion in 2026-2027.

“If we do not strengthen our cooperation and if we don’t provide a clear path to EU membership (to Ukraine), it’s not only russia but also other countries that will try to influence the process and destabilize the European continent,” said Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten.

In the coming weeks, Ukraine is to receive more than 30 interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system from Germany.

Switzerland will provide Zhytomyr with 10 low-floor trolleybuses and funds for network development and staff training.

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The EU believes that even greater pressure should be exerted on moscow to force it to negotiate a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine. This was stated by President of the European Council António Costa.

Against the background of isolated calls to ease sanctions against the russian energy sector due to disruptions in oil supply chains as a result of the escalation in the Middle East, the EU believes that pressure on the aggressor state should not be eased. This was stated by European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis. “It is important that we do not ease pressure on russia and do not help russia fund its military budget,” he said.

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten has spoken in favor of accelerating the process of creating a special tribunal on the crime of aggression by the rf.

Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Siliņa will instruct Ministries to develop a plan to sever economic ties with russia by the end of March. Latvian companies will be asked to stop importing and exporting to and from russia by the end of 2026.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has said that the authorities should limit the activities and influence of russian special services in the structures of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church.

The State Bank of India (SBI) – the country’s largest bank in terms of assets – is not prepared to process payments for russian oil. The state bank’s management believes that participating in such transactions could expose it to risks, given SBI’s large international business, and damage its reputation.

Kazakhstan plans to increase the recycling fee on cars imported from russia. According to Kazakhstan’s Minister of Industry and Construction Yersain Nagaspayev, the Republic will take this step to protect the domestic automotive industry. “We are not introducing any innovations for the russian market, we are simply reflecting the situation,” Nagaspayev said. The Minister reminded that in russia, the recycling fee for Kazakhstan’s cars has been increased tenfold, and the fee is expected to increase annually.

russians in the Netherlands are facing the blocking or closure of bank accounts and increased checks on their transactions. Bank accounts of russian citizens are often blocked or closed as a preventive measure if their owners cannot promptly confirm that they have a valid residence permit.

From December 2021 to February 2026, the number of organizations with Chinese founders or co-founders on the russian market increased from 1,400 to 14,800. At this, Chinese entrepreneurs are not only registering new businesses, but also buying existing russian companies: last year, for every three companies created, one was purchased.

The pro-kremlin center for macroeconomic analysis and short-term forecasting has warned that the russian economy is close to stagflation – a combination of GDP stagnation and rising prices. According to the experts’ report, in January 2026, GDP fell by 2.1% after growing by 1.9% in December 2025. Analysts point out stagnation in most civilian industries and a decline in corporate profitability. The trend is most noticeable in mechanical engineering and equipment manufacturing.

31% of entrepreneurs in russia are considering closing or selling their businesses. The figure rose by 8% year-on-year in the first quarter. Half of them believe that things will get worse than they are now.

By the end of 2025, the opening of shops near homes in russia slowed down sixfold.

The premium for rolled steel on the russian market may fall by a third this year due to currency revaluation, weak demand in key industries, and a slow decline in the key rate.

The number of defective new buildings constructed in russia in 2025 increased to 93%.

Eggs are becoming more expensive again in russia. According to rosstat, prices rose by 3.3% in the week from February 25 to March 2 alone, and by 14.1% – since the beginning of 2026.

Almost 70% of the russian car fleet are cars older than ten years, while cars newer than three years account for only about 7.9%.

In russia, the largest telecommunications operators reduced their capital investments by 30% in 2025.

At the end of 2025, russia’s largest shipping company in the Black Sea, novorossiysk shipping company, received 20 times less revenue than in the previous year.

russians with rare diseases complain about the lack of necessary medical care. 40.7% of patients report interruptions in medication, doctors’ refusals to write prescriptions, or the inability to receive treatment even with benefits. Medicines are not dispensed mainly due to their shortage or unavailability in russia.

russian regions, facing budget problems, began to cut healthcare spending on a massive scale. In 2026, almost a quarter of the regions (19 out of 82) made this decision. This is a record high for the entire war against Ukraine: until now, no more than seven regions per year had cut spending in this area, and in 2025 there were five. In total, the regions will save about 107 billion rubles in the healthcare sector this year. In percentage terms, the largest cuts in healthcare spending were made in vologda region – by 39% (6.5 billion rubles). Healthcare in irkutsk and kemerovo regions will lose more than 30% of last year’s budget (more than 7 billion rubles in each region). moscow (40.6 billion rubles) and volgograd (5.5 billion) regions have cut their healthcare budgets by a quarter.

The Skrill electronic payment system has started blocking belarusians’ accounts. Users from belarus are receiving messages stating that “sanctions restrictions affect the ability to provide services in your country”. Since the beginning of March, russian users have also started receiving such messages. Money can only be withdrawn from a blocked account by transferring it to a bank account opened in the name of the account holder. But there is a catch: belarusian and russian banks are not suitable for this purpose due to sanctions.

Since the beginning of the year, the sharpest price increases in belarus have been for avocados (+28.38%), fresh tomatoes (+20.81%), grapes (+14.56%), fresh flowers (+10.87%), cucumbers (+10.54%), filter cigarettes (+9.21%), tobacco products in general (+9.14%), and salt (+8.63%).

Another 20 belarusians have been added to the “extremist list” in the rb. There are now 6,373 names on the list.