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

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that US President Donald Trump remains committed to resolving the russian-Ukrainian war through negotiations.

President of Finland Alexander Stubb has stated that he counts on US President Donald Trump’s remaining focused on russia’s war against Ukraine and hopes that he will not break his promise to put an end to it.

The US Department of State has announced the allocation of $25 million in aid for programs to repatriate and rehabilitate Ukrainian children forcibly deported by russia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barrot has assured that Europe is not reducing its support for Ukraine amid the war in the Middle East.

“Everything that NATO allies and partners have paid for through the PURL mechanism has been delivered or continues to flow to Ukraine,” said NATO Spokesperson Allison Hart regarding weapons for Ukraine.

President of Poland Karol Nawrocki has signed a law granting immunity from prosecution to Polish citizens who are fighting or fought as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war against russia.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif has pointed out that the danger to the civilian population in Ukraine is growing due to russian drone attacks. The number of casualties in the first two months of this year indicates a near-doubling of the casualty rate compared to last year.

The Czech initiatives “Dárek pro putina” and “Team4Ukraine” have raised over 5 million Czech korunas for bionic prosthetics for a Ukrainian veteran.

A bipartisan group of US Senators intends to introduce a bill imposing sanctions on high-ranking officials involved in blocking aid to Ukraine. The bill is entitled Block putin Act. The authors of the bill are Democrat Jean Shaheen and Republican Thom Tillis.

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Canada has announced that it is adding another 100 tankers from russia’s “shadow fleet” to its sanctions list. “Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, who are resolutely defending their rights against putin’s destructive and aggressive actions. Until ruussia ceases its aggression, Canada will continue to ramp up pressure through sanctions, in coordination with its allies and partners,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand.

Canada has also imposed new sanctions on Iran for providing military support to russia.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaya Kallas, has accused russia of providing Iran with intelligence that helped Tehran strike US military targets in the Middle East in order “to target Americans, to kill Americans”.

“The joint project with “lukoil” to develop the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields has been suspended due to sanctions,” said Chairman of the Management Board of JSC NC “KazMunayGas” Askhat Khasenov.

“russia’s economic growth has slowed down sharply,” said CEO of VTB andrei kostin.

russian authorities are urging russian companies to list more shares on the stock exchange, but most deals turn out to be unprofitable for investors. By the end of 2025, only 7 out of 19 companies that went to IPO in 2024–2025 managed to increase the value of their shares compared to the initial price.

In russia, the consumer confidence index fell to minus 12% in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, both assessments of the current situation and public expectations deteriorated. The share of respondents hoping for an improvement in the economic situation over the course of the year fell to 19%, while the share of negative assessments rose to 32%.

85% of russian businesses either critically depend on mobile internet or lose their competitiveness without it.

The share of non-performing corporate loans at small russian banks rose to 7.3% in 2025.

By the end of 2025, market for printing services and data storage media duplication had shrunk by 4.3% compared to 2024.

In 2025, approximately 148,000 cash registers were manufactured in russia – by 63.8% fewer than in 2024.

Foreign-made wide-body aircraft continue to account for about 80% of all passenger traffic in russia, but their maintenance faces an absence of engine overhauls.

According to data for November–December, the average cost of a new car in russia is 2.8 million rubles ($34,000). The price difference between brands ranges from 1.37 million rubles for a LADA to 4.5 million for Chinese premium-segment brands.

The average budget for apartment renovations in russia has approached half a million rubles.

The state-owned railway monopoly rzd reported a 22-fold drop in profits in 2025 following a decline in freight volumes amid an economic slowdown and rising debt servicing costs. Profits fell to 2.3 billion rubles from 50.7 billion rubles.

Kamaz CEO sergey kogogin has stated that the company does not expect to turn a profit by the end of 2026. “We just want to break even”, he said. At the end of 2025, kamaz reported a net loss of 37 billion rubles. This was 11 times higher than in 2024, when losses amounted to 3.35 billion rubles.

The plan to replace outdated lifts in multi-flat buildings across russia will be derailed due to a shortage of personnel and the low qualifications of installers. Currently, there are 13,500 electromechanics in the rf, while the number of lifts reaches 800,000.

Head of russia’s largest digital services provider rostelecom mikhail oseevsky has reported a significant drop in Telegram traffic. “There is virtually no WhatsApp traffic – it practically doesn’t exist. WhatsApp is dead, and Telegram is dying right now”, he said.

The vast majority of russian doctors have spoken out against the introduction of the state-run messaging app Max into the healthcare system. 70% of respondents do not support the use of the app in the medical field.

Residents of belgorod border areas have stopped receiving “trench” allowances due to a lack of funds in the local budget.

buryatia’s authorities have called on residents to donate a part of their monthly salaries to support those fighting in the war against Ukraine. buryatia is an economically disadvantaged region, with nearly 16% of its population living below the poverty line. At the end of 2025, the republic ranked 82nd (one of the bottom four) among russia’s regions in terms of quality of life.

Over the past year, belarus’ population has shrunk by another 53,000 people. Every year, the country loses the equivalent of a large district center, not to mention the hundreds of thousands who have emigrated. The population has decreased by 1.2 million during lukashenko’s rule.

The belarusian regime has closed the KinderVita charitable foundation, which had been helping children and young people with oncological, hematological, and immunological diseases.