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

The European Commission is preparing a significant expansion of sanctions against russia’s banking system, which will affect dozens of russian financial institutions, as well as financial companies and cryptocurrency services. As part of the 21st package of restrictive measures, 90 russian banks will be added to European sanctions lists, marking the largest single expansion in the history of sanctions against russia. As a result, approximately 50% of the russian banking system will be subject to EU sanctions.

The European Commission has also proposed imposing restrictions on imports of some types of russian seafood, including a complete ban on cod imports. The fishing industry remains one of the few major sectors of the russian economy that has not been fully affected by sanctions yet.

Besides, the EC has included russian orthodox church patriarch kirill, politician vladimir medinsky, as well as heads of major government agencies and commercial companies in the draft sanctions package.

The EU must close all loopholes that allow russia to obtain materials necessary for the production of weapons it uses in its military aggression against Ukraine. This was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas. “The EU will continue to target russian revenues to force moscow to end this war, but we need to deprive russia not only of money but also of the resources necessary to finance this war,” she said.

Germany will allocate an additional EUR 300 million to the Czech initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine. This was announced by Minister of Defence of the FRG Boris Pistorius.

The government of Norway has announced the allocation of 1.2 billion kroner (EUR 109 million) this year for the development and procurement of maritime drones for Ukraine.

The countries of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) have expressed support for opening all negotiation clusters on Ukraine’s path to EU accession in June–July.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen believes that Europe is unable to effectively rearm without Ukraine.

Ukraine is in a better position on the battlefield today than before, and Finland supports President Zelenskyy’s efforts to end the war through diplomatic means. This was stated by Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo.

The Indian ship registry IRClass is tightening certification requirements for vessels involved in circumventing international trade sanctions, including those against the rf.

Container rental rates in China have skyrocketed for russian routes, updating the highs of 2025. The rate for the Shanghai–moscow route has reached $1,800–$2,100 per 40-foot container, while the cost of transportation by railway on this route has exceeded $8,000.

In 2025, approximately 43,000 russians were denied Schengen visas. Their financial losses exceeded EUR 4.5 million.

In russia, the number of on-site tax audits of the largest taxpayers in the first three months of 2026 tripled compared to the same period in 2025 – to 42 from 13. The increase in the number of audits of the largest taxpayers and the amounts of additional tax assessments is not due to seasonal fluctuations, but rather to the tightening of tax administration and the need to replenish the treasury, which is being depleted by the war against Ukraine.

Nearly a quarter of companies in russia plan to cut staff by the end of the year.

Up to 25 million russians are employed in the shadow sector of the russian economy.

In major russian cities, hundreds of bomb shelters cannot be repaired due to a lack of funds in the budget.

Restrictions on fuel sales have been introduced in nearly every fourth russian region.

The state duma has introduced fines for authorizing access to russian websites via Google and other foreign services. Owners of internet resources face fines of up to 700,000 rubles.

Electronics in russia will become by 40–50% more expensive by the end of the year.

Nearly 70% of routers in russia operate on the outdated 2.4 GHz band.

The board of directors of the st. petersburg stock exchange recommended not paying dividends for 2025.

In the first quarter of 2026, “nizhnekamskneftekhim” (russia’s largest producer of synthetic rubbers and plastics) reported a net loss of 5.6 billion rubles. Several factors converged to the company’s detriment, but the key factor was a 24.6% drop in revenue.

Last year, water, air, and soil pollution caused approximately 21,600 premature deaths in russia, and the number of related diseases reached 2.6 million cases. Diseases, disabilities, and premature deaths linked to environmental conditions resulted in economic losses of 188.5 billion rubles. The highest number of deaths is linked to the quality of drinking water.

Up to 70% of books may be removed from russian libraries under the laws on “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations”.

The European Commission intends to tighten trade restrictions on belarus as part of a new package of sanctions against russia. This was announced by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. According to her, the European Union wants to align some of the measures against minsk with sanctions against moscow so that belarus cannot be used to circumvent the restrictions.

russia is taking over belarus’ “holy of holies” – its food market. In the first three months of 2026, russia exported to the rb agricultural products worth over $1 billion– a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

In belarus, prices rose by 4.8% compared to last May, by 2.6% – compared to the beginning of the year, and by 0.1% – compared to April of this year. Food prices rose by an average of 4.9% in May, non-food goods – by an average of 2%, and paid services – by 8.5%.

Authorities of the rb have officially acknowledged a shortage of doctors. Currently, the state employment service database lists over 3,500 job openings for doctors. belarus also faces a shortage of mid-level medical personnel – nurses and paramedics.