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

On July 17, the Council of the EU imposed restrictive measures against one individual and five legal entities in response to russia’s massive strikes on Ukraine, particularly Kyiv. The entities subject to the sanctions are part of the russian military-industrial complex and are specifically involved in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has stated that during talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he plans to discuss support for Ukraine, as well as peace and security in Europe.

Minister of the Interior of Estonia Igor Taro has called on the European Union to tighten its visa policy toward russian citizens. “While ordinary Ukrainians are dying under missile strikes, nationals of the aggressor state cannot be allowed to holiday and do shopping in Europe as if nothing has happened,” he emphasized.

On July 17, the EU Council’s Working Group on Enlargement (COELA) began reviewing the results of the screening for Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova, marking the start of technical preparations for their opening.

International partners and businesses will fund the construction of 100 shelters for Zaporizhzhia.

US President Donald Trump has named russia, China, iran, and north korea as threats to the USA’s elections.

More than 60 US Senators supported the law on “hellish sanctions” against russia.

Ankara is ready to take a leading role in the naval component of future international security guarantees for Ukraine, which also include land and air components. This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye Hakan Fidan.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that russia violated the right to property and the right to a fair trial in a case concerning the seizure of land plots from their owners in the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol in 2015 – 2017.

The government of Montenegro may decide to introduce visas for citizens of the rf starting October 1.

Minister of Defence of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has announced the creation of the Border Defence Component – a new military structure that will be responsible for defending the border with russia and belarus.

China has de facto joined Western sanctions regarding the supply of technology to russia for Arctic-class vessels that could navigate the Northern Sea Route. Chinese options for propulsion and steering systems for large-tonnage ice-class vessels are possible only “if sanctions pressure is eased”. At this, there are currently no russian power plants available for such vessels.

The End of the gas superpower. On Thursday, July 16, “gazprom”’s shares on the moscow stock exchange hit their lowest level in the company’s 20-year trading history. Shares of the company, which holds the world’s largest gas reserves and has a monopoly on pipeline gas exports from russia, fell to 83.98 rubles, breaking the low set during the 2008 financial crisis.

Coal from russia may become by 20% cheaper in 2027–2028. The situation for russian exporters will be further complicated by the need to maintain discounts and high costs.

The volume of housing commissioned in russia has fallen to its lowest level since 2021. Specifically, in the first half of 2026, the volume of housing commissioned in russia decreased by 18% compared to the same period in 2025.

Car prices in russia have risen by 300% over the past 14 years. The car market has halved over the same period (since 2012). In 2012, the average price of a new car was 800,000 rubles, while in the first half of 2026, it was 3.3 million rubles. In 2012, the market volume was nearly 3 million cars per year, while in 2026 – about 1.5 million.

From December 2025 through June 2026, the average cost of cheap offcuts in russian regions rose by 56%. Prices for staple vegetables have been increasing twelve times faster than the country’s overall inflation rate during the same period.

CEO of the IT company InfoWatch natalia kaspersky has stated that russia is unlikely to catch up with the USA and China in the field of large artificial intelligence models. “When you’re walking along the same tracks that trains run on, there’s basically no chance of catching up with that train.”

India’s three state-owned oil companies, which russia had asked to increase petrol supplies, have stated that they do not have excess fuel volumes for export.

russian authorities have launched a campaign to prioritize fuel supplies to moscow, diverting petrol from remote regions, which are one by one introducing restrictions at filling stations – ranging from QR codes to sales on even and odd days.

Over the past month, owners of private filling stations in the rf have begun actively putting their businesses up for sale. In the past month alone, more than 150 filling stations in bryansk, kursk, samara, ivanovo, tambov, ryazan, novosibirsk, vladimir, and orenburg regions, as well as other areas, have been listed for sale on classifieds websites.

In orel region, the system of refueling on even and odd days was abolished as it had not worked as intended.

In ulyanovsk, penza, and rostov regions, as well as in udmurtia, mass roundups of men have intensified with the aim of sending them to war.

In the siberian federal okrug, a sharp decline in business activity has been recorded. According to results for the first half of 2026, there was not a single region in siberia where the number of registered commercial enterprises showed growth. The 12,300 companies that closed during the first half of 2026 represent an increase of nearly 19% compared to the same period last year. This negative trend indicates a deep crisis in the small and medium-sized business sector.

For residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea, food products are sold at a markup of several tens of percent higher than the price in the krasnodar territory.

The occupying authorities also demand from Crimean residents to register with the military commissariat to receive compensation for power and water outages.

belarusian human rights organizations have recognized 10 more people as political prisoners. As of today, 868 people hold the status of political prisoner.

In belarus, charges of extremism continue to be used by the authorities to crack down on lukashenko’s opponents and dissent in general. Recently, a set of Telegram stickers featuring lukashenko was labeled “extremist”.