April 16, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The United Kingdom has transferred 752 million pounds sterling ($990 million) to Ukraine as part of the G7 loan mechanism using the proceeds of russia’s frozen assets.

US Congressman Gregory Meeks, leading Democrat in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill that provides for tiered assistance to Ukraine, ranging from financing security needs and post-war reconstruction to strengthening sanctions against russia.

Ukrainian defence company PJSC ”Practika” has signed a contract with Spanish defense company Tecnove to organize the production of Kozak and Dzhura armored vehicles at facilities located in the municipality of Erencia (Spain).

The European Union is considering sending military advisors to Ukraine to participate in the training of Ukrainian military servicemen.

The ruling Liberal Party of Canada has assured that if it wins the election, it will continue to provide Ukraine with comprehensive support.

rf

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union intend to agree on the 17th package of sanctions against russia in May, – said Chief of European Diplomacy Kaja Kallas. It will affect the “shadow fleet” of the rf. EU countries are also discussing a ban on russian liquefied natural gas supplies.

Six EU countries, including Belgium and the Czech Republic, are considering options for introducing restrictive measures against russia at the level of national legislations.

Poland and the Czech Republic propose to ban russian diplomats from travelling freely in the Schengen area, as the two countries’ intelligence services suspect them of sabotage in Europe under the cover of diplomatic status.

In the capital of Estonia, the number of applications for admission to Estonian-language schools has increased while the number of applications for admission to russian-language schools has decreased after the latter began a gradual process of switching to Estonian as the language of instruction.

In January-March 2025, retail sales of fruit and berry-based spirits and all categories of wines in russia decreased year-on-year. In the first quarter, sales of fruit-based alcoholic beverages decreased by 73.2 % year-on-year to 797.7 thousand decaliters (dal). Sparkling wines showed an 8.8 % decline to 226.7 thousand dal. Sparkling wines lost 4.9 %, to 5.14 million dal, and grape wines – 2 %, to 12.98 million dal. These are not the only categories of alcohol that have seen a steady decline. Alcoholic beverages in general lost 14.7 % in retail sales in January-March year-on-year. Sales of vodka decreased by 7.2 %, and of brandy – by 12.6 %. The decline in demand is attributed to a sharp rise in prices. The rise in prices was driven by higher duties on products from “unfriendly” countries, excise duties, and producer costs.

Average rates for domestic road transportation in russia decreased by 12.1 % in the first quarter. The falling demand and an oversupply of vehicles made many carriers operate below cost.

As of early April, russian coking coal in ports fell to $122-132 per ton, which is the lowest since the beginning of 2024. If prices drop to $100, exports of semi-hard grades will become unprofitable.

In the first quarter of 2025, 1,854 electric vehicles were sold in russia, which is by 69 % fewer than in the same period last year. Sales of new electric vehicles have been in the red for nine months in a row (since July 2024). In 2025, this decline has only intensified: in January it was 56 %, in February – 68 %, and in March – 77 %.

In January-March 2025, cargo transshipment in most russian commercial seaports decreased by 5.6 % from the level of the previous year. Transshipment of dry cargo decreased by 5.3 % to 98.428 million tons, of liquid bulk cargo – by 5.8 % to 109.788 million tons.

Starting April 15, the authorities of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug will pay 1.9 million rubles instead of 3.1 million to those who go to war against Ukraine.

russian children need to be protected from foreign books with “destructive propaganda”, said chairperson of the state duma committee on civil society development yana lantratova. According to her, foreign literature “imposes anti-patriotism”, “change of social roles”, “anti-motherhood and dislike of parents”, in particular, it teaches “boys not to be heroes, and girls – to be too independent and deny traditional values”.

Poland has stated that belarusian authorities committed a “clumsy provocation” by taking away the premises of the Polish Educational Society in Grodno from the Polish community. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland has emphasized that the authorities in Warsaw consider the seizure of the building, which was occupied by a Polish public organization, to be another step in minsk’s repression of Poles living in the rb.

The Moody’s rating agency has revised belarus’ credit rating. It was kept at the lowest level with a stable outlook. Moody’s remains the only agency of the big three that continues to publish ratings for the rb. Fitch and S&P have withdrawn their ratings.

maz sold a total of 39 buses in russia during the quarter, at this, 24 vehicles were sold in March. maz’s sales in March fell by 69.6 % year-on-year, and by 82.7 % for the quarter.

In the rb, the companies’ debts in the national currency increased by 37.2 % during the year.