April 13, 2022 Ukraine and the World – Against Russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The World Bank is preparing a $ 1.5 billion support package for Ukraine, including a $ 1 billion disbursement from the International Development Association, which provides long-term interest-free development loans to the poorest countries. This was stated by World Bank President David Malpass during his speech in Warsaw. According to Malpass, the Bank's support enables Ukraine to perform basic functions, including the payment of medics’ salaries, pensions and social assistance. In his words, the plan to support Ukraine will be considered by the Bank's board of directors in the coming weeks.

The National Bank of Ukraine has transferred almost UAH 14.8 billion to the needs of the military. As of April 12, 2022, the balance on the special account opened by the National Bank to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine is almost UAH 130 million. The funds came from citizens and businesses in Ukraine, as well as from the international community (including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Czech Republic, France, Australia and many other countries).

To help the Ukrainian Army, you can transfer funds both by details and with the help of a payment card: https://bank.gov.ua/ua/about/support-the-armed-forces

The Ukrainian military will arrive in the UK in the coming days, where they will learn to work with armored vehicles that the UK will supply to Ukraine. 120 armored vehicles are in preparation. And the Ukrainian troops who will operate them will arrive in the UK in the coming days to learn how to drive these machines, said Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey. He added that Great Britain would increase its support for the Ukrainian Army, warning that “all options are being considered” if a chemical attack by russia is established in Mariupol.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has received equipment for digitizing russia's war crimes. Two private companies – AXON and Benish GPS – handed over special equipment (chest video recorders) worth $ 4 million to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. It will allow Ukrainian law enforcement to effectively collect and digitize evidence of the rf’s war crimes against Ukraine. The equipment received is considered one of the best examples in its field. “AXON and Benish GPS call on international companies to join in helping Ukraine at this difficult time”, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

A mission of French experts has arrived in Ukraine. They will help investigate the war crimes of the russian military. This was announced by Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova during a joint work in the town of Bucha. “Representatives of the French law enforcement agencies have joined our justice front. Colleagues from the French gendarmerie and the medical service of the Armed Forces of the French Republic have arrived in Ukraine to help investigate the murders by russian servicemen in Kyiv region”, she said. The group includes forensic experts, ballistics experts, DNA analysis specialists, a fingerprinting expert, an explosives technician, a crime scene expert and assistant investigators.

Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Sea Guard of the State Border Guard Service, prevented the withdrawal from Ukraine of eight russian cargo ships and two tankers, which were in the waters of the port of Odesa for preventive repairs.

The vessels were involved in the rf’s logistics operations in the Black Sea and the Danube. The owners tried to illegally remove them from Ukraine by changing the flag of the country of “registration”. To minimize mandatory payments to the state budget of Ukraine, the vessels were estimated at UAH 160 million. According to preliminary estimates, this amount is understated by at least five times.

A conference on Ukraine's reconstruction will be held in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 4-5. The agreement was reached during talks with Swiss President Ignacio Cassis. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell, together with European mobile operators, have issued a Joint Statement on communication for Ukrainian refugees in the European Union. In total, 27 telecommunications companies from Ukraine and Europe have already joined the Statement, including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Play, Telefónica, Vodafone and many others. They signed a statement on ensuring affordable and free roaming during EU-Ukraine international calls.

The US Department of Energy forecasts a drop in oil production in russia by the end of 2023 by 1.7 million barrels per day compared to February 2022.

The US Treasury Department has issued a license requiring all transactions with SB Sberbank Kazakhstan or Sberbank Europe AG to be closed by July 11.

In Finland, 84% of respondents called russia a significant military threat. Only 6% of respondents believe that residents of the neighboring state do not pose a significant military threat. Only one-fifth of Finnish citizens surveyed consider russia to be part of European culture. After russia's war in Ukraine, 74% of Finns called russia an unreliable partner. Within a year, this figure increased by 34 percentage points.

The Finns' views on russia are very gloomy. They also explain why a clear majority of Finns were in favor of joining NATO. “The Finns believe that russia's problem is not in the people, but in the leadership”, said Ilkka Haavisto, head of EVA's research department.

Activists from Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion are blocking access to trains with russian coal in the Finnish port of Hanko. Environmentalists are calling for an end to the transit and use of coal from russia before EU sanctions begin to work in August.

The German energy company Uniper has stated that it will not renew its coal supply contracts from russia after 2022.

From 2024, the largest Czech nuclear power plant, Temelin, will receive nuclear fuel from the United States and France. Currently, the plant receives fuel from the russian company “tvel”, which is part of “Gazprom”. The decision was made against the background of russia's aggression against Ukraine and the introduction of international sanctions.

Greece will speed up exploration for gas fields to reduce dependence on russian gas, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Poland’s Consulate General in Kaliningrad has suspended the issuance of visas of all kinds to russians living in the region.

Moldova’s government has refused to service the Russian company “power machines”, which won a tender to modernize the state-owned Termoelectrica, which supplies electricity and heat to Chisinau. This decision was made due to sanctions against the russian manufacturer, said the Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova Andriy Spinu.

The EU will set up a warehouse for humanitarian partners in Chisinau and send 1,200 tents and 4,000 blankets to Moldova in anticipation of more refugees from Ukraine. The storage and deployment of humanitarian aid is fully funded by the European Union, which supports countries that accept refugees fleeing the horrors of russian aggression, said EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic.

The application of the russian sberbank has disappeared from the App Store due to sanctions.

Argentina and Chile have stopped the supply of lithium raw materials to russia.

Due to russia's aggression against Ukraine, the World Trade Organization in a new report downgraded the forecast for world GDP growth in 2022 to 2.8% (from 4.1%) and world trade to 3% (from 4.7%). At the same time, the WTO forecasts a 20% decline in CIS GDP in 2022 and a 12% reduction in imports.

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The ban on imports from russia to Japan will apply to 38 goods, including alcohol, cars, motorcycles, logs, wood chips and boards, said the ministry of economy.

Railway tracks have been damaged in shebekino district of belgorod region bordering Ukraine, the region's governor said. The reasons for the incident are unknown.

Once again, this time until April 19, was extended the ban on flights to 11 russian airports in the south and center of the country: anapa, belgorod, bryansk, voronezh, gelendzhik, krasnodar, kursk, lipetsk, rostov-on-don, elista and the temporarily occupied Ukrainian Simferopol.

putin's propagandist solovyov has said some of russia's big businessmen have “leaked” and began to support anti-russian sanctions. He was especially surprised by the rhetoric of the co-owner of the novolipetsk metallurgical plant (NLMK) lisin, who is not under the West’s restrictions. chairman of the board of directors and major shareholder of NLMK lisin believes that expanding the list of goods to be exported in rubles will push russia out of international markets. According to him, the actions taken by the authorities today to counter the sanctions are not fully thought over.

Moscow’s mayor sobyanin said more than 200,000 russians were at risk due to companies' statements about the suspension of their activities due to sanctions against russia.

Chinese technology giant huawei has sent its employees in russia on vacation for a month for fear of secondary sanctions. Also, the company will not enter into new contracts for the supply of equipment to mobile operators. Western sanctions prohibit trade with russia, even third countries that produce goods using American technology and equipment.

After the first restrictions, huawei stopped all supplies to russia for fear of secondary sanctions. huawei's decision “makes one think about why it was taken”, said gadget expert korniychuk. He pointed out that huawei is a chinese manufacturer, not an American or European one, and is already under US sanctions. Because of this, he suggests that huawei fears secondary restrictions. Until recently, a third of the russian telecom equipment market was huawei’s. This is a chinese company, not European, not American, not even located in Europe, but is a key supplier of base stations and other telecommunications equipment in russia, it has invested heavily in the russian market. Today, huawei is under US sanctions. “In China, the Communist Party of the PRC participates in every major company... did huawei make this decision without its participation? This is a reason to think. We hoped that the Americans and Europeans would leave, but the chinese brothers would help us”, korniychuk says.

The Finnish company Nokia is finally leaving the russian market, said the CEO of the company. Nokia's withdrawal from the russian market is critical against the background of Ericsson's departure, said Mobile Research Group analyst eldar murtazin. According to him, these two companies together accounted for almost 45% of the infrastructure market. It will also have a negative impact on operators such as Tele2 and “rostelekom”, as their network is built on European equipment, the expert stressed.

Ceramic tiles and sanitary ware will rise by 25-30% over the next three months, said Cersanit's CEO in Russia kovtun. According to him, the rise in prices will be due to disruptions in the supply of raw materials and the expected reduction in production. kovtun stressed that there are now difficulties in supplying a number of materials needed for the manufacture of ceramics and sanitary ware. the company's CEO believes that russian producers will be forced to buy goods in Asia, which will cost much more. In particular, the supply of white clay from China will cost companies 10 times more.

first deputy chairman of the international committee of the federation council jabarov said that “russians now have nothing to do in Europe”.

At the same time, osaulenko, director of the “turdopomoha” association of tour operators, said that when choosing a place for future recreation, russians are now mostly guided by security issues. osaulenko advises to take into account anti-russian actions common in Western countries. According to him, now there are many examples of the reaction to the nationality of russian tourists. osaulenko added that russians still have a choice: they can go on vacation to North Africa, Southeast Asia, as well as Belarus, Armenia and Abkhazia.

Belarus’ government has banned the export of salt, sugar and other groceries due to increased demand in border areas.

chernyak, a state duma deputy from the Crimean region, has proposed that russia ban access to YouTube video hosting for at least 10 years.