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

The European Union has allocated an additional EUR 30 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.

Over the past month, the Ukraine Energy Support Fund has received EUR 180 million from its partners.

Iceland has donated 80 tons of energy equipment to Ternopil, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Kirovohrad regions.

“Ukraine will always have our support on its path to the EU… We want Ukraine to open all negotiation clusters as soon as possible and conclude them, because this is the desire of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian leadership. As for us, we will have no problems with this in the future,” said President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić.

Ukraine and Moldova are discussing the transfer of locomotives for the needs of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”, as well as considering the possibility of offering discounts on the transit of Ukrainian cargo, expediting border crossings, and opening a new joint border crossing point.

Ukraine has purchased 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 12 M270 multiple launch rocket systems capable of firing GMLRS and ATACMS missiles, and tens of thousands of cluster munitions from Türkiye.

The US Senate has passed a bill imposing “hellish sanctions” against russia, which was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham. According to the bill, which must now be approved by the House of Representatives, the USA will be able to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five countries–buyers of russian oil and gas, where russian energy carriers account for more than 15% of imports (India and China fall under this provision). The same tariffs are imposed on countries which help russia circumvent sanctions. russian exports to the USA will be subject to a 500% tariff.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the US Senate’s passage of the sanctions bill against russia. “From russian oligarchs to energy carriers exports and the ‘shadow fleet’ – every source of revenue that fuels the kremlin’s aggression must be targeted with sanctions from all sides. Let’s work together to deprive russia of the means to continue a war it cannot win,” she said.

New Zealand has announced the imposition of sanctions against 33 individuals and entities supporting russia’s war against Ukraine. This is the 36th package of sanctions against russia. Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Winston Peters has stated that the new package of measures places particular emphasis on those involved in the “abduction of Ukrainian children”. Besides, the sanctions target russian political figures, entities linked to the military-industrial complex, representatives of north korea and iran, creators of anti-Ukrainian propaganda, as well as members of hacker groups acting in moscow’s interests.

Prime Minister of Hungary Péter Magyar has allowed for the replacement of “rosatom” as the general contractor for the Paks-2 nuclear power plant project. At this, he has pointed out that it is necessary to wait for the results of the audit that the Hungarian government launched this summer.

“Where moscovites are taking a beating, Poland helps, even if it is not directly taking part in the war. This is in Poland’s strategic interests,” said President of Poland Karol Nawrocki. The Polish President has stated that Kyiv can count on Warsaw’s assistance in the fight against the russians.

In southeastern Estonia, work has been completed to reinforce two additional sections of the land border with russia. According to Interior Minister Igor Taro, a secure external border will help protect Estonia, including from migratory pressure.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy have issued a joint statement on the anniversary of russia’s 2008 attack on Georgia and condemned the ongoing occupation of part of its territory.

Canada has also condemned russia’s ongoing occupation of part of Georgia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barro has warned that Paris “will not tolerate any attempts at foreign interference”. The warning came eight months before the presidential election, following a new russian campaign targeting several potential candidates.

Over the past four years, authorities of Germany have expelled more than 80 russian diplomats and 313 ordinary russian citizens. Mass expulsions of diplomatic mission staff began in the spring of 2022, when 40 people were declared persona non grata at once.

Since February 2022 through June 2026, the Immigration Service of Finland has deported 1,039 russian citizens.

Bishop Chrysostomos of Bukoba and Western Tanzania (Alexandrian Patriarchate) has accused the russian orthodox church of causing schism and bribing local clergy. The Bishop has called on the russian orthodox church to “get out of Africa”.

The russian Khmeimim air base and Tartus naval base (Syria) will be transformed into “joint training centers” within three months, and civilian facilities on the bases’ grounds will come under Damascus’ control. This is stated in a joint memorandum following 18 months of negotiations. In fact, this marks the failure of russia’s entire strategy in the Middle East. The rf’s decade-long campaign, which cost billions of dollars and hundreds of soldiers’ lives, has been virtually “wiped out”, reduced to a residual presence maintained only with the “permission of the hosts”.

russia’s national artistic gymnastics team was denied visas to compete in the European Championships in Zagreb.

Owners of Chinese cars, such as Haval, Chery, Geely, Changan, Exeed, Omoda, and Jetour, have begun taking their vehicles to service centers en masse due to failures of engine and fuel system designed for the use of high-quality “Euro-5” standard petrol. The reason is that these Chinese vehicles are not designed to run on “Euro-2” petrol, which the rf’s authorities have authorized for production. The sulfur content in “Euro-2” petrol – previously banned in russia –can be up to 50 times higher than in “Euro-5”.

The volume of cash in the russian economy has been growing at the fastest rate since the autumn of 2023. This is occurring against the background of a record shortage of liquid funds in banks, which has been observed since the end of 2025, while the russian government, in particular, is counting on these funds to secure loans to cover the budget deficit.

russia does not have enough funds to help out the affected sellers on the “wildberries” marketplace. We’re talking about hundreds of billions of rubles. Analysts are predicting a wave of bankruptcies.

Sales of military and dual-use goods on the “wildberries” marketplace have fallen by 40% following strikes on the company’s warehouses.

Across the rf, “wildberries” pickup points are being sold off en masse. As of today, more than 2,000 such listings have been posted on the “avito” service.

Queues at filling stations caused by the fuel crisis, which had gradually disappeared in July, are returning to russia’s regions. Residents of at least 12 russian regions are complaining about the inability to freely fill up their cars and the need to spend many hours waiting.

Authorities of the rf have faulted a project to launch regional air routes in siberia due to the failure of the An-2 import substitution initiative. Work on the new “baikal” aircraft, which lasted more than seven years, has effectively “reached a dead end”, and its mass production is no longer planned.

Over the past four years, the price of construction materials in russia has nearly doubled. For some items, the increase may reach 80%, for others – 120%, and the average is approaching 100%.

According to data for January–July, 47 russian and foreign brands announced their decision to exit the russian market or reduce the number of shops. russian players are facing the greatest difficulties – 36 brands (77% of the total number of retailers). Turkish companies account for 13% (six brands), Finnish companies – for 4%, and Italian, Korean, and Kazakhstani companies – for 2% each.

russian farmers have faced a sharp decline in sales of the new grain harvest due to problems with export logistics. Grain is piling up within russia, grain elevators are overflowing, and purchase prices are falling.

In the first half of 2026, restaurant operators across russia reduced alcohol sales by 42.4%. This negative trend is driven by the closure of establishments, a decline in foot traffic, and a reduction in the share of alcohol in the bill. Drinks at restaurant prices are becoming unaffordable for an increasing number of consumers.

The cost of manufacturing a coffin has jumped by 105% since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For example, in June 2026, the average cost of a coffin in the rf was 9,167 rubles, compared to 4,469 rubles in February 2022.

The voronezh-based “tiazhmekhpress” plant, which manufactures heavy forging and pressing equipment, switched its employees to a four-day workweek starting in late July due to a lack of orders.

In July 2026, russia experienced its largest-ever medical data breach: 88.37 million records were exposed. Compared to June, the volume of compromised information increased more than 50-fold – a record high for the healthcare sector.

A record 57% of russians surveyed believe that a sense of anxiety prevails among those around them.

The European Union will continue to support belarusians who advocate for freedom and democratic change in their country. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola made this statement on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the mass protests in belarus following the 2020 presidential election. “Six years after the people rose up for a new future, their voices have not been silenced. Europe stands shoulder to shoulder with them and will strive to ensure that freedom, media freedom, and the will of the belarusian people prevail in belarus,” she wrote. “belarus will be free,” the President of the European Parliament emphasized.

On August 9, the Czech Senate raised the historic white-red-white belarusian flag in commemoration of the events during the 2020 presidential election. “Hoisting the historic belarusian flag on the Czech Senate building is a show of support for all those who, despite obstacles and repression, refuse to give up the fight for a free and just belarus,” said President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil.

“Six years later, lukashenko’s regime continues its repressive policies, including transnational repression against belarusians in exile. The number of political prisoners continues to rise, and even more people are being arbitrarily detained on charges of ‘extremism’, ” reads a statement by Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs marking the sixth anniversary of the protests against the rigged presidential election in belarus.

“belarus remains deprived of freedom, while the lukashenko regime supports russia’s aggression against Ukraine and participates in hybrid attacks against neighboring countries. “Lithuania stands firmly with the belarusian people and their right to a free, democratic, sovereign, and independent Belarus”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys on the anniversary of the protests against the rigged presidential election in belarus.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have called on belarusian authorities to cease the criminal prosecution of media representatives and to immediately release all journalists and media workers who are being detained for political reasons.

Starting September 1, the international payment system Payoneer will suspend support for transfers to accounts in belarusian banks, as well as the registration of new users from belarus.

For the fifth consecutive month, belarus has ranked last in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in terms of industrial production growth.