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

The EU Committee of Permanent Representatives has launched the process of adopting amendments to the EU’s long-term budget for 2021–2027 regarding the provision of a EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine, as well as the 20th package of EU sanctions against russia, through a written procedure that will be concluded at 12:00 p.m. on April 23.

President of the European Council António Costa has thanked Ukraine for fulfilling its commitments regarding the repair of the “Druzhba” pipeline, which was damaged by russian attacks.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Petr Macinka has assured that once the “Druzhba” oil pipeline resumes operations, Hungary and Slovakia will support the EU loan to Ukraine and the 20th package of anti-russian sanctions.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Juraj Blanár has stated that his country is ready to support the 20th package of sanctions against the rf.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has announced that she will host a meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in Brussels on May 11.

“…We passed to Ukrainian authorities information on 45 Ukrainian children who were forcibly displaced or deported to russia, belarus, or temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” said Europol Spokesperson Jaap Op Gen Oort.

“The exchange of experience and cooperation in the field of drones between our countries is valuable and is already yielding results. At the same time, the realities of war mean that we need to significantly speed up  and expand our efforts, as speed directly influences  effectiveness on the battlefield,” said Chief of the Defense Staff of the Netherlands Armed Forces Onno Eichelsheim regarding cooperation with Ukraine.

The USA has implemented Ukrainian anti-drone technology at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

During the Ukraine–EU Business Forum in Brussels, agreements were signed to establish joint ventures with Danish, French, and European partners. “We will have more joint ventures. I expect at least 15 or even 20 by the end of the year,” said Head of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement Gert-Jan Koopman.

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“The European Commission intends to allocate at least EUR 131 billion for defense in the EU budget for 2028–2034,” said European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius. He called on EU countries to ramp up arms production and ensure that Europe produces more weapons than russia. “If we really want to deter russia, we must produce more,” he said.

On Wednesday, Minister of Defence of the FRG Boris Pistorius presented the Bundeswehr’s first-ever military strategy, which aims to make the German Army the strongest in Europe amid the threat from russia. Together with reservists, the total force strength is to be at least 460,000 troops. “Our ambition is, and must be, to become the strongest conventional army in Europe,” the Minister announced. The main objective of Germany’s military strategy is to counter threats from russia.

Minister of Culture of Latvia Agnese Lāce has stated that she will boycott the opening of the Venice Biennale on May 9, 2026, if russia participates in the exhibition. Latvia’s Ministry of Culture has emphasized that allowing russia to participate in this major European event, funded by the EU budget, effectively legitimizes a country under sanctions that is waging a war of aggression. They have also emphasized that the individuals representing russia have ties to russian state institutions and support the official narratives regarding the war. In total, more than 20 European countries have called for russia to be barred from participating.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna has condemned russia’s closure of the memorial to victims of soviet repression in tomsk and the dismantling of the monument to fallen Estonians. According to the Minister, russia’s closure of the memorial to victims of soviet repression in tomsk and the dismantling of the “Stone of Sorrow” is a deliberate attempt to erase history and silence the millions of victims of repression. He emphasized that memory cannot be destroyed. “This act is an insult to Estonians and all those who suffered under soviet terror. Distorting history and dismantling memorials will not change the past – it only exposes the kremlin’s contempt for truth and human dignity,” Tshakhna wrote.

The Polish Swimming Federation (PZP) has announced that athletes from russia and belarus will not participate in the 2027 European Diving Championships, which are to be held in Poland. The decision was made despite the World Aquatics’ new position regarding the return of these athletes to international competition under their national flags.

The Norwegian Swimming Federation will not host international competitions under the auspices of World Aquatics if athletes from belarus and russia are allowed to participate. This was stated by the Federation’s President  Kato Brattbakk. “Our position is clear. We will not host any championships as long as russian and belarusian athletes, both adults and juniors, have full access to competitions, the right to participate, and are allowed to use their flags and national anthems,” Brattbakk added.

russian authorities are returning to soviet-era state planning practices in petrol production in response to the shutdown of approximately 20% of refinery capacity last year, and this year alone, five major refineries have shut down in the last month. The ministry of energy of the rf will begin issuing mandatory recommendations to oil companies regarding fuel production volumes, shipments to the domestic market, exports, and sales on the exchange. The requirements will apply to the production of Class 5 petrol and diesel fuel and will be enshrined in agreements between oil companies and the ministry of energy. They are expected to take effect following a corresponding government resolution and remain in force until the end of 2026. Filling station prices will also be subject to strict state control: oil companies are obligated to keep price increases within the limits of inflation, taking into account increases in VAT and excise taxes. The ministry of energy and the antimonopoly service will monitor the operation of the new system.

In russia, the number of companies with tax debts has risen sharply amid a deteriorating economic situation. In 2025, 391,825 companies owed money to tax authorities – a 12% increase year-on-year, and in the first three months of 2026, the number of debtor organizations had already risen to 439,952. Among large businesses with annual revenue of 2 billion rubles or more, the number of debtors increased by 47% over the past year, exceeding 156,000 organizations. By industry, the highest number of debtors is observed in trade and construction (an increase of 8–10% year-on-year), healthcare, automotive manufacturing, hotel industry, and film production (over 25%). At this, the larger the company, the more significant the growth in tax debts.

As of the end of January, russian companies’ overdue debts to suppliers and counterparties reached 8.2 trillion rubles – a historic high. Over the past year, this figure rose by 21%; over five years, it increased 2.5-fold, having reached 3.8% of GDP. In absolute terms, this is comparable to five federal budgets of some wealthy regions or one and a half times moscow’s budget. The largest share of non-payments is concentrated in the manufacturing sector (2.9 trillion rubles) and trade (1.9 trillion rubles).

russian retailers’ warehouses have accumulated significant stockpiles of Apple and Samsung smartphones, which are not selling due to russians’ reluctance to spend on electronics. In the first quarter of 2026, demand for non-food goods in russia fell sharply: in the smartphone segment, sales dropped by approximately 15% compared to the same period last year. In April, russians reduced their purchases of electronics and gadgets by 13.7% year-on-year.

The average cost of seeing a veterinarian and vaccinating animals in russia rose by a third over the year. In January–March 2026, the average cost of a vet’s appointment cost 857 rubles, and vaccination – 2,022 rubles. Amid rising prices, the average bill at clinics reached 3,913 rubles. Market participants attribute the rise in service costs to increased purchase prices for medications and equipment, introduction of mandatory labeling for medicines, and a shortage of vaccines following the many major pharmaceutical companies’ withdrawal from the russian market in 2022.

By the end of 2026, taxi fares in russia could rise by up to 30% amid the deterioration of the industry’s overall economic situation. Fares are rising due to increased costs for taxi fleets, including higher prices for vehicles, maintenance, spare parts, and insurance. Another factor is the new requirement for carriers to switch to locally manufactured vehicles.

By the end of 2025, the number of Chinese sellers of counterfeit toys on russian marketplaces had tripled. On Ozon, the share of Chinese sellers among distributors of counterfeit goods reached 96%, on Wildberries – 37%.

In the first quarter, investment in development sites in russia fell by 31% due to declining demand for housing and expensive loans.

Only 1% of hotels in russia meet the “five-star” standard.

The labor shortage in russia’s tourism and hospitality sector averages 25–30%. In some regions, the figure reaches 40%.

In the rf, approximately 400,000 lifts – or 55% of all operating lifts – may become unsafe due to a lack of necessary maintenance.

A majority of russians (56.3%) have not renovated their apartments in the last three years. Many people want to renovate their homes but don’t have means. The main obstacle is money. A lack of funds was cited as the main barrier by 75% of survey participants. Another 31.3% of respondents admitted that they are held back by uncertainty about the future and a lack of experience with renovation work.

leader of the communist party of the rf (cprf) gennady zyuganov has stated that russia may face a repetition of the 1917 revolution due to the economy that has “hit rock bottom”.

Head of the investigative committee of the rf aleksandr bastrykin has ordered an investigation into the works of children’s author grigory oster. According to the investigative committee, the reason for the revision of oster’s works – including “Harmful Advice”, “38 parrots,” and “A Kitten Named Gav” – is the need to “identify minors at the stage of preparing crimes”.

roskomnadzor is conducting a massive crackdown on internet service providers and has revoked 1,967 licenses to provide telecommunications services. This is not the first large-scale revocation: in December 2025, the agency revoked nearly 1,000 licenses.

russia is beginning to introduce restrictions on the purchase of SIM cards on marketplaces. russians will soon be able to buy new SIM cards only from telecom operators.

russians should be divided into “trusted” and “others” – with varying levels of access to mobile internet under the restrictions. This proposal came from first deputy chairman of the state duma’s control committee dmitry gusev.

russian schools have begun lessons on the dangers of using VPNs, involving psychiatrists and prison officials.

Internet shutdowns, blocking of messaging apps, and intensified efforts to fight VPNs have sparked a surge in emigration sentiment among russians. The number of search queries about moving from the rf to other countries has reached its highest level since the mobilization in the autumn of 2022. Compared to the beginning of the year, queries about moving from the rf to some other country have doubled: 19,600 in January, 22,900 in February, and 40,000 in March. And compared to the first quarter of last year, russians began searching for information about relocation opportunities three times more often: in January, February, March 2025, there were 16,200, 12,400, and 12,900 such queries, respectively.

The supreme court of the rf has removed crime statistics for russia covering the past 20 years.

deputy head of the federal customs service of the rf vladimir ivin has urged officials “not to go too far” in closing statistics, pointing out that statistical data – particularly those collected and processed by the customs service – “form the basis for federal executive agencies to carry out their assigned functions”. Please, be reminded that since 2022, amid the imposition of sanctions, russian authorities have stopped publishing regularly some information. This includes, for example, demographic indicators, some data on oil and gas production, etc.

In russia, arm and arm-part transplants for patients who have lost limbs have been added to the list of services covered by mandatory health insurance. This occurred against the background of a sharp increase in the number of disabled people and amputees in the country who lost limbs in the war against Ukraine. The 2026 federal budget allocated 98.16 billion rubles for providing people with disabilities with assistive devices (prosthetics), which is nearly three times more than in 2020–2021 (33 billion rubles).

In yakutia, thousands of employees of “housing and utilities sector of the republic of sakha (yakutia)” are threatening to strike if they do not receive their March salaries. The previous salary delay occurred just a month ago. The region’s ministry of finance has not transferred money to local budgets, and those budgets have not transferred it to utility workers. They will not be paid anytime soon – the total debt exceeds 3 billion rubles.

Newspaper circulation in belarus has plummeted 2.5-fold over the past 10 years, while the number of magazines per capita has fallen 4 times, and the number of titles has decreased by 37%. In 2025, books were published in a print run of 18,000 copies, representing a 21% decline over 10 years. One-third of the books are textbooks.