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

The European Commission plans to present the EU’s new 21st package of sanctions against russia early next week. The package is expected to include a comprehensive set of measures targeting russian energy revenues: freezing the price cap on russian oil and adding several tens of new vessels to the list of russia’s “shadow fleet”. Sanctions against russian energy giants “lukoil” and “rosneft” are also being considered.

Lithuania will allocate an additional EUR 4 million to support the installation of solar power plants and energy storage systems in Ukrainian government facilities.

Lithuania and Ukraine have signed a memorandum of intent to create the joint Brave Lithuania program, aimed at strengthening cooperation in the development and implementation of defense innovations. The parties also agreed on long-term commitments for liquefied natural gas supplies to Ukraine via the terminal in Klaipėda.

During a meeting with Prime Minister of Hungary Péter Magyar, Chancellor of the FRG Friedrich Merz emphasized that support for our country and the start of negotiations on its accession to the European Union are a priority for Europe and should not be blocked due to  bilateral issues between Hungary and Ukraine.

“Ukraine currently has EUR 90 billion at its disposal for defense and budgetary support from the European Union. Meanwhile, russia is fighting, mustering its last reserves of strength. It is horrific and bloody, but all authoritative sources say the same thing: russia can no longer continue this war. It is running out of financial resources, human resources, strength, and motivation,” said EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova.

Finland’s National Debt Collection Agency has seized EUR 3.7 million belonging to russia to compensate the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz of Ukraine for the destruction of its property by russia.

The democratic world has condemned russia’s massive attack on Ukraine on the night of June 2.

“russia continues to bring death and destruction to Ukrainian cities. These attacks once again demonstrate russia’s disregard for human life and international law. We strongly condemn these atrocities and firmly support Ukraine. russia must stop its aggression,” said President of Estonia Alar Karis.

“The Republic of Moldova stands with Ukraine. The lives of civilians are not collateral damage. Those responsible for these attacks must be held accountable,” said Prime Minister of Moldova Alexandru Munteanu.

“This latest wave of terror is yet another reminder that the kremlin continues to rely on attacks against civilians because it is suffering defeats on the battlefield,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania  Kęstutis Budrys.

“russia continues its systematic targeting of civilians. This is moscow’s deliberate strategy of terror. Only resolute, uncompromising pressure and complete international isolation can deter an aggressor that recognizes no boundaries. Every loophole, every moment of hesitation, every softened response becomes an invitation for the next strike. russia must pay,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna.

“Another night, another attempt by russia to break Ukraine’s resolve through indiscriminate killings and destruction. russia will not succeed. Norway condemns russia’s attacks. They are further proof that the kremlin does not seek peace. “We extend our deepest condolences to all those affected,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Espen Barth Eide.

“putin continues to choose brutal violence against innocent civilians. There are more casualties, and children are once again among the victims. Behind every such report there are people who have lost their homes, their safety, or their loved ones. We will continue to support Ukraine,” said Minister of Defence of the Netherlands Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.

“putin’s indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine are shocking. My thoughts are with all those killed and wounded. In desperation, putin continues his brutal offensive, while Ukraine is forcing russia to pay a heavy price on the battlefield. The United Kingdom will stand firmly with Ukraine,” said UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey.

“These massive strikes, targeting the population and civilian infrastructure, once again demonstrate moscow’s utter disregard for efforts to establish peace… We will continue, together with our partners, at the bilateral and European levels, to provide Ukraine with all necessary support to bring about a just and lasting peace that will guarantee its security and the security of Europe,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France.

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In russia, over the past year, large companies have nearly tripled the volume of overdue payments under contracts with small businesses – from 1.5 billion rubles in 2024 to 4.1 billion rubles in 2025.

russia’s largest airline, “aeroflot”, reported a loss of 11.9 billion rubles in the first quarter of 2026, compared to a profit of 26.9 billion rubles a year earlier. “aeroflot”’s adjusted net loss rose to 8.8 billion rubles from 3.4 billion rubles a year earlier. Furthermore, in the first four months of 2026, russian airlines carried by 1.2% fewer passengers than during the same period in 2025.

russia is facing a shortage of platinum-based cancer medicines in at least 16 regions. The lack of these medicines could lead to the disruption or postponement of chemotherapy. Market participants cite the rising cost of platinum as one of the reasons for the shortage. Since the beginning of 2024, the price of 1 gram of platinum has risen by 107%, making carboplatin production unprofitable and putting cisplatin medicines at high risk of shortage.

At the end of 2025, russia’s leasing sector ended the year with a negative financial result for the first time since 2022: the aggregate net loss of companies within the bank of russia’s monitoring scope amounted to 3 billion rubles. By comparison, a year earlier, the same group generated a net profit of 100.2 billion rubles.

By the end of 2025, sales of steel pipes in russia fell by 16% compared to 2024.

By the end of 2025, russia’s market for electronic components had shrunk by 18.3%, and the decline is projected to continue by another 8.4%. At the same time, the share of domestic components fell from 28% to 26%, giving way to finished Chinese products.

For russian students planning to get higher education in Europe, the list of available countries is rapidly shrinking. A number of countries have already completely closed their doors to applicants from russia. These include the Czech Republic, Poland, and the Baltic states. Finland and the Netherlands have also introduced restrictions that seriously complicate the admission process. Germany and Austria have significantly tightened their selection criteria. In particular, in Germany, applicants must prove their financial solvency – they must have at least $12,000 (over one million rubles) in their bank account, which roughly corresponds to one year of living expenses in the country.

84% of russian mobile apps contain critical vulnerabilities, and their number is growing every year. The number of “holes” runs into the tens of thousands. The increase in their number is linked, in particular, to programming using artificial intelligence.

On russia’s day of protection of children, the russian guard, the federal penitentiary service, and the police held events for schoolchildren in cities, where they demonstrated weapons, armored vehicles, and techniques for suppressing mass riots.

In russia, from May 1 to 25, 2026, the average price of 1 kg of strawberries in shops was 686 rubles – by 15% higher than a year ago.

In belarus, the kgb carried out a wave of searches at the registered addresses of belarusians who had left the country. Human rights activists are already aware of more than 30 cases of searches at the homes of relatives of activists currently  abroad.

The minsk branch of the belarusian railways has asked a recruitment agency to find migrant workers from Nepal and Pakistan, but no one was willing to take the jobs.