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

EU member states have agreed on the 21st package of sanctions against the rf.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the fact that the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives had reached an agreement on the content of the 21st package of EU sanctions against russia. “As Ukraine gains military momentum, our sanctions continue to undermine economic foundations of the rf’s military actions,” she said.

“We are hitting putin where it hurts most: cutting off the financial lifelines he relies on to sustain his war. This is not the end of the road on sanctions. We are already working on the next steps. The EU must be ready to respond to any further russian escalation,” said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas regarding the new 21st package of anti-russian sanctions.

The EU will impose sanctions on belarus’ oil refineries for supplying petrol to russia.

Ireland has announced a new package of bilateral aid to Ukraine for 2026 totaling EUR 125 million. This aid includes EUR 100 million for the supply of priority non-lethal military equipment. It also includes EUR 25 million for the restoration and protection of critical infrastructure, with a particular focus on the energy sector ahead of winter.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to keep three Ukrainian World Heritage sites on the list of sites in danger due to russian attacks. These include St. Sophia’s Cathedral, the adjacent monastic buildings, and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as well as the historic centers of Lviv and Odesa.

ReconCraft will begin manufacturing Ukrainian “Magura” unmanned maritime platforms in the USA in partnership with the Ukrainian company UFORCE.

As part of its energy support for Ukraine, Finland has donated to Lviv region a cogeneration plant, which will ensure greater predictability during the upcoming heating season amid the war.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani is convinced that inviting russian artists to the Venice Biennale “was an extremely short-sighted decision”. “russia is a country that, in violation of international law, attacked Ukraine and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides. We also see what stance it takes toward us: two spies were expelled because they were caught red-handed while attempting to bribe two Italians,” Tajani pointed out.

Prime Minister of Latvia Andris Kulbergs has stated that russia and belarus are intensifying their hybrid war against his country, as putin seeks to divert attention from his losses on the battlefield in Ukraine.

“The French oil and gas company TotalEnergies will withdraw from the shareholder structure of the ‘arctic lng-2’ project in russia,” said the company’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanné.

russian banks have sharply increased their borrowing from the central bank of the rf amid an outflow of funds from accounts into cash, which has reached hundreds of billions of rubles per month. In the first three weeks of July, the bank of russia provided credit institutions with 2.099 trillion rubles in additional loans. As a result, banks’ total debt to the central bank reached 6.243 trillion rubles, nearly having doubled compared to the end of last year (3.637 trillion).

Overdue wage arrears in russia as of the end of June 2026 amounted to 2.07 billion rubles. Compared to June 2025, the volume of unpaid wages increased by 1.12 billion rubles, or 2.2 times.

The cost of transporting oil from novorossiysk rose by 10–14%.

Major russian clothing and footwear retailers have begun actively selling off merchandise at discounts of up to 90% as russians have shifted to a frugal lifestyle.

The “mmk” steel group has reported a net loss of 19.1 billion rubles for the first half of 2026, compared to a profit of 5.6 billion rubles a year earlier.

Mobile internet usage in russia has fallen sharply amid frequent service outages. From January through June 2026, mobile internet traffic nationwide dropped by 22%. At this, in moscow, this figure fell by 30%; in st. petersburg and leningrad region – by 18%; and in the krasnodar territory, voronezh, ivanovo, and kursk regions – by more than 40%.

“postgres professional”, russia’s largest developer of database management systems, is preparing for massive layoffs due to deteriorating financial performance. Up to 30% of the workforce may lose their jobs.

Over the past five years in the rb, the area of housing commissioned for individuals registered as needing improved living conditions has decreased by 39.1%. Thanks to government support, 2.7 times less housing was commissioned for this category.