April 10, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

On April 14, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will discuss EU Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas’ updated initiative to increase military support for Ukraine.

The European Union has transferred a EUR 1 billion loan tranche to Ukraine as part of the Emergency Ukraine Support Credit initiative, funded by proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

The European Investment Bank is providing Ukraine with EUR 300 million for the restoration of energy and critical infrastructure.

Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN Barbara Woodward has stressed that russia’s massive strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets, as well as other barbaric actions, prove the kremlin’s unwillingness to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

In Kryvyi Rih, 32 representatives of diplomatic missions in Ukraine honored the memory of those killed by the russian attack on the city.

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President of Estonia Alar Karis has signed a law on constitutional amendments revoking the right to vote in local elections from third-country nationals residing in Estonia as well as stateless persons.

In January–February 2025, russia’s consolidated budget was executed with a deficit of 3 trillion 805 billion rubles. The deficit of the consolidated budget in January was 720.6 billion rubles, in February – 3 trillion 84.4 billion rubles. For the same period in 2024, the consolidated budget was executed with a deficit of 412.3 billion rubles.

rrussia’s GDP growth in February 2025 fell to 0.8 % compared to 3 % in January. At the same time, due to labor shortages and high interest rates, inflation in the country exceeded 10 %.

In russia, due to the reduction in the pace of housing construction and the end of the implementation of large infrastructure projects, the production of cement will be declining for two years. In 2025, it will fall by 7.5 % year-on-year, to 51.4 million tons, and in 2026 – by another 0.5 %, to 61.2 million tons.

By the end of 2025, the volume of investments in real estate in the rf as a whole is expected to fall by 30–53 % year-on-year, to 550–600 billion rubles.

In the rf, the production of the only domestic TV sets from the register of russian radio electronics of the ministry of industry and trade has stopped. The Voronezh plant “kvant”, which until now had been making devices under the irbis brand, has informed market participants that their assembly has been stopped and will not resume in the near future.

The state duma has complicated the rules for entering a university after college (vocational school). From September 1, 2025, college graduates will not be able to enter a university without passing a centralized state exam if their chosen field of study does not correspond to the one they previously studied in a secondary specialized educational institution.

Authorities of moscow have already prepared to drive schoolchildren to vocational schools en mass after putin’s demand to send more russians to factories.

Rural schools of the rf are in acute need of almost 30 % of teachers. Most schools resolve the problem of staff shortages “through part-time jobs” – they invite a person who has received a diploma through online courses to teach.

The number of car thefts in the rf has increased by 70 %. The shortage and high cost of spare parts due to Western sanctions is the main driver of the growth of crime in this sphere.

The rf’s state duma’s committee on state building and legislation has supported the initiative of Tatarstan to arrest the property of relocants.

Satanism threatens the national security of russia – this conclusion was drawn by the members of the state duma. In particular, they are concerned about the growing number of satanic sex orgies. According to state duma members, satanism is “a form of struggle waged by the united West against the rf.” It spreads very widely – from the activities of psychologists, nutritionists, tarologists, magicians and coaches to teenage subcultures of furries and quadrobers.

Clergiman of the russian orthodox church fiodor lukyanov has said that satanists penetrate into many spheres of society.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budris has commented on the rf and the rb’s plans to hold joint military exercise “Zapad” (“West” – Transl.) in September, stressing that Vilnius will react firmly to any violations or incidents. Commenting on the upcoming maneuvers, Budris pointed out that due to various military activities, “the likelihood that something will be violated is growing”.

Deputy Director of the State Security Department of Lithuania Remigijus Bridikis has said the lukashenko regime could force belarusians living in Lithuania to work against the country.

Latvia intends to ban citizens of the rb and the rf from buying real estate, including the persons whom Latvia granted the status of permanent resident of the EU or permanent residence permit.

oao “gazprom transgaz belarus” will not pay dividends for 2024. This decision was made by the russian “gazprom”, which owns the belarusian gas transportation company. The company has not been paying dividends for the second year in a row.

The state media credibility in belarus increased from 38.4 % in 2021 to 60 % in 2024, said the institute of sociology of the national academy of sciences of the rb. Statements of pro-government sociologists were made against the background of the persecution of journalists and bloggers, which in belarus continues since 2020. Many editors offices work in exile. The vast majority of independent media are deprived of the opportunity to work in the country, their activities, as well as any cooperation with them, are de facto criminalized under the guise of fighting extremism. By the end of 2024, 35 media in the rb had been recognized as “extremist groups”. Currently, 40 employees are in prisons. belarus is the most dangerous country for journalists in Europe.

In prisons, belarusian political prisoners face deteriorating medical care, as reported by the British weekly medical journal The Lancet. Prisoners, especially political ones, “barely receive even basic medical care in prisons”.