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

The USA has backed a program to support the reintegration of Ukrainian children brought back from deportation and temporarily occupied territories, and will provide $12 million for this purpose.

France has supplied Ukraine with new MICA air-to-air missiles and 30-mm ammunition for Mirage 2000 fighter jets.

On September 28, Ministers of Defence of the European Union member states will discuss further military aid to Ukraine and the fight against russia’s “shadow” fleet. A key issue at the meeting will be the possibility of giving up their “place in the queue” to purchase Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine from the American manufacturer Lockheed. A final decision may also be taken at this meeting to release EUR 6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility, so that at least part of the funds can be used to support Ukraine.

European Commission Spokesperson Thomas Regnier has stated that the European Commission is preparing to launch a new call for proposals to utilize the remaining funds from the SAFE (Safety through Action and Financing for Europe) defence program, totalling EUR 10 to almost EUR 20 billion. Part of this sum may be used by EU member states for joint projects with the Ukrainian defence industry.

Sweden has delivered 35 tons of energy equipment to Kyiv, Poltava and Chernihiv regions.

Latvia’s Saeima has adopted amendments to the legislation introducing border controls on grain shipments from third countries, in particular to verify their origin. The amendments are designed to prevent shipments, including grain, stolen from Ukraine from being transported through Latvia. Special attention will be paid to cases where there is a suspicion that the cargo does not match the details in the accompanying documents or that it originates from Ukraine’s territories temporarily occupied by russia. The decision also applies to transit cargo not intended for sale in the EU.

US Democratic Senators, members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, issued a joint statement calling on US President Donald Trump to invoke the “Graham Act”, which concerns sanctions against russia and “punitive tariffs” against buyers of russian energy carriers.

President of Finland Alexander Stubb has appealed to SpaceX owner Elon Musk to extend the coverage of the Starlink satellite internet service to Ukraine so that it can target russian ballistic missile launchers.

EU countries are discussing sanctions, visa restrictions and funding cuts to limit the return of russian and belarusian athletes to international competitions under their national flags.

russia’s war against Ukraine is already having global consequences, and the international community must use all means at its disposal to bring it to an end. This was stated by the President of the European Council António Costa.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda has warned that russia is becoming “increasingly reckless”.

“The freedom for which the Hungarians fought in 1956 is the very same freedom that we must defend today for the Ukrainians,” said President of Hungary András Baka, calling for support for Ukraine.

Supreme Allied Commander of NATO’s Allied Forces in Europe Alexus Grinkevich has stated that the allies had stepped up the exchange of intelligence in response to a wave of sabotage and other incidents, likely linked to russia.

Against the background of russia’s aggressive behaviour, in 2027 the government of Denmark will allocate nearly 800 million kroner (almost EUR 33 million) to measures aimed at strengthening the work of the police and intelligence services.

russia’s government has planned the largest increase in household electricity tariffs in nearly two decades, following calls from power generation companies to include the cost of protecting power stations from drones in their prices. In 2027, energy tariffs for households will be indexed by 14.4% – the highest rate since 2009, when they rose by 25% in one go.

Gas prices for russians will rise by a total of 26.8% in 2027 – 2029. The indexation next year will be 10.4%, in 2028 – 7.4%, and in 2029 – 7%. Besides, over the three years, heating tariffs will rise by 27.2%, water supply tariffs – by 25.4%, and wastewater disposal tariffs – by 24%.

In January – August, clothing factories in the rf cut production by 4.2%, chemical plants – by 3%, and metallurgical enterprises – by 5.2%. Production of lifts fell by more than 20%, and that of freight wagons – by more than 30%.

Limited demand has led to a sharp fall in prices for russian metallurgical coal. Prices fell by 7.7–15% over the week.

From September 1 through 24, the volume of “cash” in circulation rose by a further 386.3 billion rubles, as shown by operational statistics from the central bank of the rf. In August, customers withdrew 434 billion rubles in cash from banks, and in July – a record 620 billion for this year. Overall, the outflow, which has continued for eight consecutive months (from February through September), has increased the country’s cash money supply by 2.9 trillion rubles. By the end of the year, according to the central bank of the rf’s forecast, this figure could rise to 3.7 trillion rubles.

The number of jewellery shops and workshops in russian cities with a population of over one million has fallen by 4.5% over the past year. Those that remain are having to optimize their costs due to falling sales volumes. In parallel, the number of pawnshops is growing in major cities. Their services are becoming increasingly popular.

The krasnodar territory – russia’s largest agricultural region, accounting for one-tenth of the total grain harvest, 14% of the beet harvest and over a third of the grape and apple harvests – is introducing a state of emergency due to market oversupply. rostov region had earlier introduced a state of emergency.

Over the past year, the number of bankruptcy cases involving construction companies in russia has risen by 41%. The situation deteriorated sharply in June – September. The number of such cases rose from 1,089 to 1,454 – an increase of more than 30%. The majority of these bankruptcies involve regional property developers. Cases were recorded in novosibirsk, perm, kazan, surgut and chelyabinsk.

Most unsold housing is concentrated in the three largest markets: in moscow – 2.8 million square metres, in the krasnodar territory – 2.7 million square metres, and in moscow region – 1.9 million square metres.

The number of bookshops in russian cities with a population of over one million has fallen by 22% over the last five years, and by 10% – over the last 12 months.

russia’s authorities have begun censoring material discussing a possible further increase in the retirement age against the background of a fall in putin’s approval ratings.

The proportion of russians who approve of putin’s performance as president fell by 2.1% over the week. At the same time, the proportion of those who disapprove of his performance rose by 2.2%. putin’s confidence rating has also fallen. This is evidenced by survey data covering the period from September 14 through 20, when voting took place in russia for the state duma elections.