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

“russia has shown that it doesn’t really want negotiations. In fact, they are stepping up their attacks on Ukraine because they are trying to achieve their maximalist goals. And since Europeans aren’t willing to give in to those maximalist demands, then, of course – why would they want to talk to us? Our approach must be to increase the pressure,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas. Kallas has also pointed out that the USA’s easing of sanctions on russian oil is a “dangerous precedent”.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pointed out that it is important for his country to continue supporting Ukraine during the war in Iran. “…It is extremely important that we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine. We cannot allow the war in the Persian Gulf to become an unexpected gift to putin,” emphasized the Prime Minister.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Tom Berendsen has stated that his country advocates increasing pressure on Hungary so that the European Union can adopt a joint decision on financial support for Ukraine.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has drawn attention to the unacceptability of Hungary’s veto on the allocation of a EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine. “Our main task today is to keep the focus on Ukraine. It must not shift to other regions of the world.” “Europe’s security depends on the outcome of russia’s military aggression against Ukraine,” he emphasized. Budris reiterated that the rf must be dealt with from a position of strength.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Maxime Prévot has warned that normalizing relations with russia would be perceived as a sign of weakness. “There is a difference between dialogue and normalization. Today, russia is rejecting Europe’s presence at the negotiating table,” Prévot emphasized.

“As we build our independence and European strength, we must understand: in russia’s war against Ukraine, there is no peace on the horizon,” said European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius.

The World Bank is expanding the Repower project to restore damaged heat supply in Ukrainian cities.

The Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid will allocate nearly EUR 160,000 in humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s energy sector.

Ukrainian specialists have inspected eight decommissioned thermal power plants in Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Austria, and Croatia to identify the equipment needed by Ukrainian energy companies.

rf

In its conclusions on strengthening the capacity to counter hybrid threats, the Council of the EU has condemned russia and its proxies for “persistent, coordinated, and sustained hybrid campaigns against the EU, its member states, and partners, as well as for undermining support for Ukraine and its ability to defend itself.”

The EU Council has extended sanctions until September 15 of this year against approximately 2,600 individuals and entities responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barrot has announced that the EU will impose sanctions against nine individuals accused of war crimes during the russian occupation of Bucha. Sanctions will also be imposed against four kremlin propagandists, including Frenchman Adrien Bocquet, who, according to Barrot, is engaged in justifying russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.

“russia is the greatest threat to security in the Arctic,” said Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney.

According to South Korea’s National Security Institute’s research, North Korea may have received up to $14.4 billion from russia for weapons and military personnel sent to the war against Ukraine.

In 2026, by 30% fewer food halls will open in russia than planned. Compared to 2024, the number of new openings will half.

russia has regressed to the levels of the year 2010 in terms of the number of operational ATMs. By early 2026, the country had as many ATMs as it did 16 years ago. In just one year, their number decreased by 5,900 across the country, and over 12 years – by less than approximately 100,000.

russians have been allowed to use VPNs, but only with an FSB license.

“yandex” is considering closing some business lines and optimizing its workforce this year. The company employs a total of about 95,000 people; last year, the workforce was already reduced by 2%.

One of russia’s leading and fastest-growing federal telecom operators, “dom.ru”, introduced speed limits for subscribers in st. petersburg, samara, and yekaterinburg starting in February. Users who consume more than 3 TB of data per month are subject to these restrictions; if this threshold is exceeded, wired internet access speeds will be reduced to 50 Mbps. “dom.ru” charges a fee to restore full speed.

Sales of flats to pay off mortgages in russia had doubled by the end of 2025. Specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2025, the volume of such transactions reached 757 million rubles, although previously they had remained at a minimal level. Experts point out that selling a flat to pay off a loan may indicate difficulties in servicing the debt.

The supply of fully finished flats on the moscow new-construction market has dropped sharply over the past year. As of early March, only 8,200 such units were listed – by 52.6% fewer than a year ago. Their share of the total supply fell from 28.2% to 18.5%.

The number of closed restaurants is growing in russia. In moscow, 125 establishments closed in the first two months of 2026, and another 460 are expected to close by the end of the year. A similar trend is observed in st. petersburg, novosibirsk, and tatarstan.

“rosaviatsiya” has restricted the air operator’s certificate of Azur Air (a russian charter airline) following several incidents involving aircraft engine failures and forced landings. The restrictions are in effect until June 8, but the carrier continues to operate flights.

At the end of 2025, “sovcombank”’s net profit amounted to 53.2 billion rubles, which is by 31% lower than the 2024 figure.

jsc “syktyvkar pulp and paper mill” – one of russia’s largest producers of pulp and paper products – has reported a 1.9% decline in revenue to 82.9 billion rubles for 2025. The company’s net profit fell 2.5 times.

Internet outages and communication problems in moscow do not allow drivers to park for free and cannot serve as grounds for waiving a fine.

Member of the state duma committee on industry and trade igor antropenko has proposed bringing payphones back to the streets of russia. He is convinced that they can be used to make calls and access the internet during mobile network outages.

russian commanders have banned participants in the war in Ukraine from using the Telegram messaging app. Compliance with the order is monitored by the military police. If the app is found during an inspection, the punishment is being sent to the front lines.

russian students are choosing Asian countries for their studies. In the spring of 2026, nearly 60% of student applications for academic mobility programs were submitted to universities in Asia – China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Korea. Just a few years ago, Europe was the primary destination for exchange programs.

In 2025, officials of the ministry of internal affairs of the rf identified 57,400 homeless and neglected children – by 2.1% more than in the previous year. Among the federal districts, the siberian federal district (10,000 children), central federal district (8,500), and the northwestern federal district (6,700) have the highest numbers of homeless and neglected minors; among the regions, these figures are the highest in moscow, saint petersburg, leningrad region, and tuva. The largest increase in the number of homeless and neglected children was recorded in chelyabinsk region (from 566 to 2,900), tuva (from 1,690 to 3,250), and novosibirsk region (from 895 to 1,200).

chairman of the state control committee of the rb vasiliy gerasimov has reported that last year alone his agency initiated 71 criminal cases involving “unjustified intermediation”. According to him, this phenomenon is prevalent across various sectors – from industry to agriculture, from energy to medicine.

Industrial production in belarus fell by 3.7% in January–February 2026.

russia has effectively derailed the implementation of the joint belarusian-russian project to develop the “osvey” light multi-purpose aircraft. The ural civil aviation plant delayed the preparation of the design and engineering documentation for two years, and when it was finally ready, it turned out that its cost was more than twice the agreed amount (US$36 million versus US$15 million under the agreement).

In the rb, bankruptcy proceedings have begun for the closed joint-stock company “belorusskiy sputnik” – the country’s oldest travel agency, established in 1958. The company’s office in the capital is located across from lukashenko’s administration.