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

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has assured that US weapons under the PURL mechanism, including air defense systems and missiles for them, will continue to be supplied to Ukraine. According to the Secretary General, NATO is learning from Ukraine’s experience and sharing its knowledge with Ukraine.

“He (putin) and his cronies should be in no doubt, we will always defend our sovereignty and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” stated UK Prime Minister Starmer. He also emphasized the need to continue supporting Ukraine, pointing out that russia is not winning the war.

“The Commission (European Commission) is making progress on the technical work to implement the loan. We will be ready to act quickly to provide this support as soon as an agreement is reached in the EU Council,” said European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis regarding the EU’s EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine.

Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic Alena Schillerová has assured that her government fully supports Ukraine and seeks the fastest possible unblocking of the EUR 90 billion loan.

Member of the European Parliament Dainius Žalimas believes that Europe needs Ukraine’s experience if it is seriously considering strengthening the continent’s defense, particularly within the framework of a European Security Council, should one be established in the future.

Sweden has joined the agreement to establish a Special Tribunal on russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine.

“russia remains the greatest and most direct threat to our security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region,” says the report by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier is convinced that Europe today must ensure its security from russia, not with russia, given the russian  war against Ukraine. “Just as I believe that there will be no return to 24 February 2022 in relations with russia,” he stated.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that the government has authorized the military to board russian vessels which London considers part of a network enabling moscow to export oil in circumvention of Western sanctions. British military personnel may take control of tankers and other vessels that do not comply with their orders, are armed, or use electronic warfare capabilities.

UK Defense Secretary John Healey has stated his firm commitment to stepping up efforts to cut off funding for russia’s military machine. He said that the UK and its allies had already stopped 200 of nearly 600 ships, but added that “we are also determined to redouble our efforts to turn the screw on  putin and his flow of funds that support his illegal war in Ukraine.”

Ministers of Defence of Australia and Germany Richard Marles and Boris Pistorius have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of space defense, which provides for the joint development of an early warning system to detect space threats from China and russia.

The EU Court has upheld the freezing of assets belonging to five russian oligarchs: dmitry pumpyansky, tigran khudaverdyan, viktor rashnikov, dmitry mazepin, and german khan.

Zimbabwe has reported the deaths of 15 citizens who were recruited to fight in russia’s war against Ukraine. The government of Zimbabwe is stepping up diplomatic efforts to bring home the 66 citizens who are still alive.

russian industry ended February in the red. After falling by 0.8% in January, the country’s production volumes declined by 0.9% last month. Of the 28 sectors monitored by rosstat, 22 are in recession.

russia’s coal industry – one of the largest raw materials sectors of the economy, employing 150,000 people and encompassing over 30 single-industry cities – continues to plunge into its worst crisis since the 1990s. The number of unprofitable coal companies in russia is growing rapidly: currently, 62 enterprises are in the “red zone”, of which 20 have already suspended production, and 14 have decided to liquidate or mothball their operations. Last year, coal miners had a net loss of 408 billion rubles – a record in the industry’s history. Three out of four companies in the sector ended the year in the red, with each ton of coal mined resulting in an average loss of about 1,000 rubles. This year, the situation for coal miners will worsen: the industry’s net loss is projected to increase by another 41%, to 576 billion rubles. As a result, the coal mining industry will lose more than 1 trillion rubles over the 2024–2026 period.

In 2025, the “mechel” group reduced its coal production by 33%.

In 2025, the retailer Concept Group closed 47% of its shops. The majority shareholder is afk “sistema”, owned by billionaire vladimir yevtushenkov. The company’s revenue in 2025 fell by 4% year-on-year to 8.7 billion rubles, while its net loss amounted to 298 million rubles.

An arbitration court declared bankrupt “Sady Beshtau”, which manages 250 hectares of apple orchards in stavropol. It will be difficult to find a buyer for the asset: investors are withdrawing from fruit production in russia en masse. In February of this year, a court declared bankrupt the “central-chernozem fruit and berry company” – a major apple producer in the chernozem region that managed 2,500 hectares of orchards.

russian restaurants in early 2026 faced a drop in foot traffic on a scale not seen in decades. Year-on-year, traffic at many restaurant chains fell by 30–40%. Since the start of the year, traffic and revenue at restaurants have been at their lowest in the past 25 years.

The number of food service establishments in the rf’s major cities has decreased by 5%.

In January–February, the number of applications from entrepreneurs to open a franchise food service location fell by 47.5% year-on-year. In the coffee shop segment, demand fell by 51%.

Starting May 1, 2026, russians will be prohibited from taking refined gold bullion weighing more than 100 grams out of the country.

north koreans sent to work on russian construction sites work 16 hours a day with almost no days off, live in unsanitary conditions, and receive about $10 a month in cash. Many north koreans do not even know whom exactly they are working for, as they are hired in violation of UN sanctions. Their passports are taken away immediately upon arrival in russia and handed over to dprk intelligence officers.

putin demands that restrictions on foreign films for russians be implemented “as soon as possible”.  “Quotas” will lead to the collapse of independent film distributors, the disappearance from cinemas of majority of  foreign films – especially of serious films—and the transfer of financial flows from the distribution of the remaining foreign films under the control of putin’s friend yurii kovalchuk’s family or gazprom’s entities.

In the rf, it will be permitted to use literary works without the consent of rights holders who are not the authors, if the heir prohibits the use of these works in russia.

The staffing shortage in units of the federal fire service of the rf has exceeded 20% and continues to grow. The staffing issue is most acute in the main departments of the ministry of emergency situations in moscow, vladimir, magadan, and tula regions, and udmurtia.

The police of moscow is understaffed by 30% to 50% depending on the unit, while the waiting list for housing can stretch to 90 years.

Foot traffic at moscow restaurants and bars has dropped by 12%.

European institutions and a number of EU member states congratulated belarusians on Freedom Day on the 108th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic.

In belarus, finished goods inventories at enterprises continue to grow. In January–February of this year, they accounted for 90.6% of the average monthly production volume. A year ago, the figure was significantly lower – 75.7%.

In the rb, the share of loss-making organizations rose sharply at the beginning of 2026. By the end of 2025, 13.3% of enterprises were operating at a loss, but by January 2026, their share had jumped to 31.9%.

The prosecutor general’s office of the rb has designated  the former belarusian state emblem “Pogonya” as “extremist.”