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

Canada will contribute $200 million to the program for the procurement of US weapons for Ukraine (PURL).

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has announced the acceleration of the integration of the EU and Ukraine’s defense-industrial sectors. “We are investing in drone production in Ukraine. And we are bringing Ukraine into our European Drone Defense and Air Shield projects”, the President of the European Commission pointed out.

“We emphasized our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people and highly commended their resilience and courage over the past weeks and months,” reads the joint statement by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer following a meeting during which they discussed London’s plan to participate in providing the EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine.

The United Kingdom is considering joining the EU’s EUR 90 billion loan package for Ukraine. “Today is an important day: we have seen a clear political signal from the United Kingdom regarding its participation in the EUR 90 billion aid package for Ukraine. Of course, this is only the first step,” said European Commission Spokesperson Balázs Újvári.

“The geopolitical situation in which Europe finds itself – with russia’s ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East – demonstrates that our continent needs a 360-degree vision of its security,” stated President of the European Council António Costa.

Germany plans to transfer to Ukraine a gas-fired power plant located at the junction of the currently unused “Nord Stream–1” gas pipeline with the German gas transmission network.

Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU)’s Defence Expert Roderich Kiesewetter has proposed that Europe consider jointly developing a medium-range missile with Ukraine to counter the nuclear threat posed by russia.

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The European Union is preparing new sanctions against those responsible for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

In the EU Council’s Political and Security Committee, ambassadors from member states have discussed options for invoking the EU’s mutual assistance provision, as defined in Article 42.7 of the Treaty.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola has announced that the European Parliament will cooperate with social media platforms to fight the spread of disinformation. “We will discuss the fight against disinformation and hybrid threats. These are no longer distant risks. This is an area where the European Parliament has a particular obligation to work with stakeholders to eradicate it, as it poses a real threat to democracy,” she said.

The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania will use artificial intelligence to improve the effectiveness of its efforts to fight disinformation.

On May 4, military exercise “Spring Storm 2026” began in Estonia, with scenarios involving russia’s war against Ukraine included in the plan.

Berlin police are preparing to ban the display of soviet symbols, russian and belarusian flags, and symbols of russian aggression against Ukraine on May 8 and 9.

Sweden has launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into space. The satellite will be used, in particular, to map military targets in russia. Over the next two years, the country plans to deploy about ten satellites, which will be used for reconnaissance near the rf’s borders and to monitor military activity in the region.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Peru has launched a preliminary investigation following a flood of complaints from citizens regarding the recruitment of their relatives for the war against Ukraine.

russia’s dependence on technology imports from China has reached 90%. Despite the announced import substitution programs, the level of dependence has increased compared to last year (80%). The reason was the tightening of EU sanctions, which cut off the remaining supply channels from the West.

“Additional revenue from rising oil prices will not help the rf’s budget,” admitted minister of finance anton siluanov.

russian businesses have faced a drop in demand following the government’s decision to raise the VAT rate from 20% to 22%. In the first quarter of 2026, 37.6% of companies reported a decline in sales, which is by 4.5% higher than in the fourth quarter of last year. Companies have also complained about non-payment by counterparties, the unavailability of credit, and a shortage of working capital.

russian lift factories are operating at two-thirds capacity due to a downturn in the new construction market, the failure to implement the program to replace worn-out lifts in flat buildings, and a double-digit base rate that makes it impossible to obtain cheap loans. According to market participants’ forecasts, the decline will have deepened by another 30–40% by the end of the year.

Owners of shopping centers in russia have begun looking for ways to utilize spaces that have become vacant due to falling demand: some of them are being converted and sold as apartments. The vacancy rate in shopping centers is rising: in 2025, it stood at 6.2%, and in the first quarter of 2026, it had already reached 7.5%. In moscow, the rate is higher – 9.7% – while in some districts, it reaches 16%. Foot traffic is also declining: in the first quarter of 2026, it fell by 2% year-on-year, and by 25% compared to 2019. In the regions, a further 3–5% drop in traffic is expected this spring.

russia’s largest food retailers faced a decline in foot traffic in the first quarter of 2026 for the first time in six years. At “x5”, which operates the “pyaterochka” and “perekrestok” shops, traffic fell by 1.7%, and at “fix price” – by 5.8%. “lenta”, which operates a network of 3,000 shops, barely managed to keep traffic near zero (+0.1%) thanks to aggressive promotions, while the premium chains “vkusvill” and “azbuka vkusa” experienced the most noticeable outflow of customers.

russians have begun saving on spring barbecues. Retail sales of meat for grilling in April 2026 fell by 10% year-on-year in volume terms. Other barbecue-related items also saw declines: demand for grills fell by 11%, for fire starters – by 10%, for skewers – by 6%, and for charcoal – by 4%.

Consumer demand for bottled water in russia fell by 14% year-on-year in volume terms from January to April. This is driven by citizens’ desire to save money.

In russia, there has been a proposal to increase state fees for migrants 12-fold. Traditionally, as an exception, it is proposed that those who sign a contract with the ministry of defense for a term of at least one year be exempt from paying fees for citizenship and residence permits.

roskomnadzor plans to block up to 92% of VPNs by 2030. 40 billion rubles will be allocated for this.

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, 34% of the population uses unlicensed satellite TV equipment to watch Ukrainian TV channels.

putin decided to collect money from gambling addicts and signed a law approving the creation of another gambling zone in the altai republic. Local activists opposed this. There are already four gambling zones operating in russia, one of which is located in the altai krai – eight kilometers from the new casino.

russia’s second-largest producer of button mushrooms has faced losses. “gribnaya raduga” incurred losses of 127.4 million rubles in 2025, although the business had previously been profitable. Other companies have also faced problems due to stagnant consumption of fresh mushrooms.

vorkuta’s flagship enterprise, “vorkutaugol”, has announced layoffs and elimination of social benefits for miners. The company has also warned of a reduction in coal production, which is no longer needed in the same volume.

belarusian banks’ assets exposed to credit risk increased by 11.9% over the past year.

belarus continues to face a labor shortage – more than 139,000 workers are needed.

belarus ranks 216th out of 236 countries in the global ranking of countries by fertility rate. In the rb, the birth rate is below the population replacement level.

In the rb, the number of orphans, as well as children left without parental care, has increased by more than a quarter over the past five years. At the same time, the number of family-type children’s homes has decreased by 2.7% over the past five years (from 291 to 283).

The Swedish International Liberal Center Foundation has been declared an “extremist organization” in the rb. The Foundation was established in the late 1980s by the Liberal People’s Party of Sweden. Its goal is to support democracy.