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

The European Union may adopt a clear roadmap for Ukraine’s accession to the Bloc as early as May of this year.

“It’s only the Ukrainian military who know how to really fight the russians, how to defend against professional units like the ‘rubikon’. Defending Europe without Ukrainian troops would be very difficult,” said Commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union Colonel Linas Idzelis.

Ukrainian military expert teams will continue to work in the Middle East to further develop security capabilities.

Former Permanent Representative of Türkiye to NATO Ambassador Fatih Ceylan has emphasized that Ukraine’s assistance in strengthening the missile and drone defense capabilities of the Gulf States will be an extremely valuable contribution to the region’s defense.

russia’s international reserves fell by more than $60 billion over the month.

The sharpest decline in the share of gold in russia’s international reserves over the past 13 years was recorded in March of this year. The figure fell from 47.5% to 44.6%, marking the most significant change since the summer of 2013. russia’s total gold and foreign exchange reserves stood at $749 billion as of April 1, having decreased by 7% over the month. Meanwhile, the value of gold assets in the central bank’s portfolio fell by $50 billion at once – to $334 billion.

Domestic demand for rolled steel in russia fell by 9–12% year-on-year in the first quarter.

The number of new retail outlets opened across russia has dropped sixfold – a trend experts have observed for the first time in 25 years.

Hyundai, LG, and Samsung do not plan to return to russia due to sanctions. This was stated by the rf’s ambassador to the Republic of Korea georgy zinoviev.

European banks Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit, and ING Group intend to exit the russian market.

The Italian brand Trussardi has closed all its outlets in russia.

russian clothing retailer “zolla” closed 35 stores in 2025 amid a sharp drop in profits. Net profit fell more than fivefold – to 429.6 million rubles, compared to 2.3 billion rubles a year earlier.

Up to 40% of retail clothing shops in russia may close in 2026. The market is under pressure from falling demand, rising rent costs, and new taxes.

russian software has risen in price by 10–20% since the beginning of the year.

According to first-quarter results, even russian bookmakers saw a decline in revenue – for the first time in three years. So far, the market has lost 0.5% in monetary terms, but its leaders expect revenue to drop five to six times by the end of the year. Among the reasons – an increase in the tax burden and mandatory deductions for bookmakers. At this, financial results from 2025, when the new regulations were not yet in effect, already showed a significant decline in bookmakers’ profitability.

“rosrybolovstvo” forecasts a decline in salmon catches by the end of 2026 to 230–250 thousand tons.

One of russia’s oldest and leading shipbuilding enterprises, “krasnoye sormovo”, recorded a net loss of 6.3 billion rubles for 2025, which is 1.8 times more than in 2024.

The “kronshtadt” group, which specializes in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles, ended 2025 with a net loss of 4.6 billion rubles. The negative result is linked to the accrual of a provision for financial investments. An additional factor was the sanctions imposed in connection with the “special military operation”, which led to persistently high interest rates on loans.

“For businesses, russian courts are ‘the best place to seek justice,’” said chief justice of the supreme court of the rf igor krasnov. Before taking this position, krasnov headed the prosecutor general’s office and led the largest campaign to nationalize private businesses since the early 2000s, during which assets worth over 4 trillion rubles were transferred to the state. krasnov cited “a high level of predictability” as one of the advantages of russian jurisdiction.

The construction industry is facing a catastrophic labor shortage. This was stated by deputy prime minister of the rf marat khusnullin.

Developers’ revenue from housing sales in moscow region has fallen by nearly 20%.

In 2025, revenue at the rostov grain terminal fell to 17.3 billion rubles. This figure is 1.7 times lower than in 2024. The net loss amounted to 99.5 million rubles.

Following the second wave of flooding in dagestan, russians began actively canceling travel bookings to the republic for the May holidays. Currently, 25% of previously purchased tours have been canceled, while new sales have dropped by 40% over the past week.

In kemerovo region, amid a massive budget shortfall, a portion of teachers’ pay has been sharply reduced. While their teaching load remains unchanged, bonuses for grading written assignments and for “managing classrooms” will be halved. Additionally, the bonus for teaching specialized classes will be reduced from 25% to 15%.

In total, over the past five years, at least 18 Western universities, educational alliances, and programs have been designated as “undesirable” in russia. For approximately 3,000 russian students, this status could make returning home risky. According to Article 284.1 of the criminal code of the rf, participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization is punishable by up to two years in prison.

The state duma has suggested that russians carry about paper maps and not rely on the internet.

In belarus, consumer prices rose by 5.6% in February 2026 compared to February 2025. At this, food prices rose by 8.7%, prices for non-food goods – by 2.1%, and for services – by 5.4%.

Another 17 people have been recognized as political prisoners in belarus. Currently, 922 people have been recognized as such.

The parliament of the rb has approved a draft law introducing administrative liability for “propaganda of homosexual relationships, gender reassignment, childlessness, and pedophilia”. The maximum fine for individuals will be 900 belarusian rubles (about EUR 263), for sole proprietors – 4,500 belarusian rubles (about EUR 1,320), and for legal entities – 6,750 belarusian rubles (about EUR 1,978).