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

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas expects “positive decisions” on April 22 regarding the EU’s EUR 90-billion loan to Ukraine. “Ukraine really needs this loan, and it is also a sign that russia will not be able to outlast Ukraine. This is extremely important at this moment,” she pointed out.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has expressed hope that the “Druzhba” oil pipeline will resume operations in the coming days, which will finally allow the EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine to be unlocked.

“It is extremely important that the European Union make progress on the EUR 90 billion loan so that we can move forward with the 20th sanctions package and so that we can exert as much pressure on russia as possible... And it is absolutely clear that we are at a turning point where this loan is desperately needed,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland Helen McEntee.

The agenda for the meeting of the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives, scheduled for April 22, includes a proposal to amend the EU’s long-term budget for 2021–2027, which would enable the European Union to provide Ukraine with a loan of EUR 90 billion.

The European Union is allocating EUR 1.5 million to support the activities of the Ukrainian Women’s Fund and the Ukrainian Women’s Congress, which work to promote women’s rights and their participation in recovery efforts.

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) and Ukreximbank have signed an agreement under which the equivalent of EUR 20 million will be allocated to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises during martial law.

“Ukrainian technologies are currently in demand worldwide as innovative solutions. We must also keep these developments in mind,” said Minister of Defence of the FRG Boris Pistorius.

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The European Union has added two organizations responsible for continuing russia’s hybrid activities to its sanctions list. The sanctions list includes the media platform Euromore, which disseminates russian narratives and disinformation to a European audience, and the russian foundation for the support and protection of the rights of compatriots living abroad, which is a key instrument of the rf’s strategy of external influence and propaganda.

The Council of the European Union has decided to extend until April 29, 2027 the restrictive measures against individuals and organizations responsible for actions aimed at destabilizing Moldova. The EU Council’s decision reaffirms its unwavering support for Moldova amid russia’s ongoing hybrid attacks.

“Overall, pressure on russia must remain high, especially the targeted pressure on russia’s energy sector. We must ensure that russia does not become the main beneficiary of the war in Iran,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of the FRG Johann Wadephul.

russia is leading the trend of global human rights erosion. This is reported in the annual report by the human rights organization Amnesty International. The kremlin continues its aggressive war against Ukraine; the authorities restrict freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion and belief; they intensify internet censorship and suppress dissent. Human rights defenders point out that arbitrary detentions based on fabricated charges, without independent and impartial investigations and trials, remain a hallmark of russia’s law enforcement and judicial systems.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has launched an investigation into director general of the russian anti-doping agency veronika loginova over her involvement in covering up positive doping test results of russian athletes during the 2014 Winter Olympics in sochi.

In April, oil production in russia will drop by 300,000–400,000 barrels per day compared to March, marking the largest single-month decline since the pandemic crisis, when the global oil market faced a sharp drop in demand. Compared to the end of last year, the decline in production will amount to 500,000 barrels per day.

Since the beginning of 2026, the bank of russia has sold 21,772 tons of gold to finance the budget deficit, which reached 4.6 trillion rubles by the end of March amid low oil and gas revenues at the start of the year. russia’s gold reserves as of April 1, 2026, decreased by 0.7 million troy ounces to 74.1 million troy ounces, including a decline of 0.2 million ounces in March.

russians have sped up the shift to cash amid ongoing mobile internet outages and government plans to tighten controls on transfers to bank cards. From April 3 to 10, citizens withdrew a record 240 billion rubles from bank accounts since the start of the year.

In January–March 2026, 11,200 food service establishments closed in russia, with a 31.28% increase in closures (a year ago, this figure was 10%). In March, in cities with populations of over one million, the number of restaurants decreased by 5% compared to last year (to 7,200 establishments), of cafes – by 6% (to 12,500), and of bars – by 11% (to 5,900). From the beginning of the year through March 23, restaurants and bars across russia saw a 3% drop in visitors; in moscow, the decline was 12%, and in st. petersburg – 8%.

“russians have started switching to cheaper food products due to a decline in real incomes and a desire to save money,” said president of X5, russia’s largest retailer by sales volume (which owns “perekrestok,” “pyaterochka,” and “chizhik”) yekaterina lobacheva. Another sign that russians have switched to a frugal mode is the sharp rise in sales at discounters, which have targeted low-income shoppers from the very beginning.

Annual profits for leasing companies in russia have halved.

In russia, by the end of 2026, the cost of taxi rides could rise by 30%. Higher fares will be noticeable as early as September, with the peak occurring in December. The reasons include a labor shortage and the general state of the russian economy.

In russia, metal consumption fell by 15% year-on-year in the first three months of 2026.

Profits at the russian steelmaker “severstal” fell by 100% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period the previous year. In March, “severstal” announced cost-cutting measures in response to declining demand in the steel industry and a significant deterioration in market conditions, planning to cut this year’s investments and labor costs and not pay dividends.

Shares of PJSC “eurotrans” (owner of the “trassa” filling station chain) fell by 10.66% at the moscow exchange due to the company’s failure to pay dividends on “people’s bonds”.

The state duma of the rf decided not to ban bookmakers from accepting bets from children, legally incapacitated persons, and individuals with child support debts. minister of finance anton siluanov requested that the draft law not be considered. The ministry of finance justified the request by arguing that if the initiative were adopted, the restrictions could affect up to 30% of bookmakers’ clientele. This, in turn, could lead to a shortfall in tax revenues to the budget of approximately 27 billion rubles, as well as a loss of revenue from targeted contributions to sports – about 14 billion rubles.

Most russian companies have “frozen” the hiring of additional employees until the end of the year. The decline in labor demand has also affected those already employed by companies – by the end of 2025, the number of people working part-time in russia had risen to a record high. As a result, in the fourth quarter, the number of employees working part-time (at the employer’s initiative or by mutual agreement) or in a downtime increased by 9.9% compared to the second quarter – to approximately 1.6 million people.

russian businesses are sacrificing cybersecurity to cut costs. One in five companies cut spending in this area in 2025.

federation council speaker valentina matvienko has unveiled a plan to save the rf from dying out. In her view, russians need to stop “crowding into apartments in a few major cities” and start building “spacious homes” across the country, raising large families, and planting flowers in their yards. She added that the “depopulation of territories” poses a “strategic threat” to russia. matvienko’s proposals came amid a demographic crisis in russia.

In countries popular among russians as vacation destinations, “public services” and other russian services have stopped opening amid the government’s crackdown on the use of VPN.

russians will be blocked from paying for VPNs with russian credit cards.

A significant portion of russia’s population lives without access to basic sanitation. About a quarter of russian households lack access to centralized sewage systems or indoor sanitation facilities. In rural areas, the situation is even worse – in some regions, up to two-thirds of households are forced to use outdoor pit latrines.

Wage arrears have accumulated among “rosatom”’s contractors in kaliningrad region. The problems began with construction workers employed at the kaliningrad “Renera” lithium-ion battery plant in neman. They have not been paid for 2.5 months.

The volume of shopping centers commissioned in moscow in January–March 2026 fell by 92% compared to the same period last year.

The European Union does not intend to change its sanctions policy or ease sanctions against the lukashenko regime. This was stated by EU Special Representative for Sanctions David O’Sullivan.

A group of independent UN human rights experts reported serious violations in belarusian prisons, including torture, prolonged solitary confinement, and prisoners’ deaths. Besides, UN experts condemned the authorities’ decision to revoke the passports of individuals who were forcibly deported from the country after their release.

In 2025, “serious restrictions” on the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association continued in belarus. This is stated in the report “Human Rights in the Modern World”, published by the international human rights organization Amnesty International. “The government of the rb has sought to suppress the activities of religious minorities through a mandatory and non-transparent registration procedure,” the document states. “The judicial system has been used to stifle dissent. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment were widespread, and the perpetrators remained unpunished”.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys intends to appeal to European Union member states to unequivocally condemn the rb’s decision to designate the European Humanities University as an “extremist organization”. The Minister aims to draw attention to the implications of this decision at the European level and urge the EU to take appropriate actions. These could include, in particular, imposition of sanctions against belarusian officials involved in the decision regarding the EHU.

Lithuania’s State Security Department’s (VSD) assessment of belarus has not changed. “On the one hand, we see the brutal persecution of its own citizens, interference, and involvement in certain criminal intelligence activities… One aspect is to harm us, influence us, and manipulate situations. Another goal is to seek relations with the West… Economic benefits in no way change the regime’s internal stance of acting against us, including in conjunction with russia,” explained Director of the VSD Remigijus Bridikis

belarus plans to amend the procedure for reviewing appeals from citizens and legal entities. In particular, officials intend to expand the list of grounds on which they can deny citizens personal receptions. A new potential ground is “when there are grounds to believe that the aim of the appeal during an in-person appointment is to discredit the republic of belarus, in particular its state bodies, organizations, and officials”.

Since 2020, freight traffic in belarus has decreased by more than 40%.

belarus remains one of the countries with the lowest level of internet freedom. In the 2026 ranking, it scored only 20 out of 100 points, and this placed it at the bottom of the list of 171 countries. Oman and Bangladesh received the same score as belarus – 20. Those countries also have significant restrictions on access to online content. russia received a score of 4 due to state control over the internet.