April 13, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Norway, together with the Nordic and Baltic countries, will train one brigade of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. NOK 10 billion (EUR 830 million) will be allocated for this purpose.

Lithuania has pledged to allocate EUR 30 million to Ukraine for various formats of military assistance.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Carlos Cuerpo has proposed to create a new defense fund to provide non-refundable grants to strengthen Europe’s defense lines and support Ukraine using the frozen assets of the aggressor country. We are talking about assets worth EUR 200 billion.

US Senator Rick Scott has pointed out that Ukraine should not agree to any compromises to end the war, especially those imposed by russia.

US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg welcomed the resumption of negotiations between Washington and Kyiv on the minerals deal.

Ukraine has received $50 million from the World Bank as part of implementation of the Transforming Health Care Through Reform and Investments in Efficiency health care project.

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Lawmakers of Finland have unanimously approved a draft law submitted by the government in February. It bans citizens of countries “waging an aggressive war and threatening Finland’s security,” including russians, from buying real estate in the country.

Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis has said that the country’s security services are preparing for a new wave of sabotage operations, including those by the rf.

Representatives of the Department of Transport of Estonia have detected about 40 violations on the Kiwala tanker detained in the Gulf of Finland. The tanker is from the russian “shadow fleet”.

Over the past three years, non-residents’ investments in the real sector of the rf have decreased by 57 %. Of the $497.7 billion in foreign direct investment that businesses had as of January 1, 2022, only $216 billion remained by the beginning of 2025, the lowest amount since 2009. Translated into rubles at the current exchange rate, the economy lost 24.7 trillion rubles, or 12 % of GDP, an amount that exceeds half of russia’s federal budget (41 trillion rubles) and is almost equal to the balanced annual profit of all russian companies (30.4 trillion rubles).

In 2022-2024, russia’s economy lost 281 billion US dollars of foreign investment.

Inflation in russia accelerated to 10.34 % in annual terms in March.

The russian national welfare fund as of April 1 decreased to three trillion rubles, although at the beginning of 2022 it had almost 9 trillion. Since the beginning of this year alone, the fund has spent 500 billion.

The russian economy is in decline: the metallurgy industry has decreased by 4.5 %, mining – by almost 5 %, and civilian transport production – by 9.5%.

In 2025, the number of car thefts in russia is expected to increase due to high prices for new cars and a shortage of spare parts. Car owners are increasingly buying used cars, which encourages criminals to steal cars to disassemble them for spare parts. Criminals have switched from stealing expensive cars to theft of budget ones, disassembling them for spare parts rather than reselling them.

At the end of February, the birth rate in russia reached 7.6 %: 90.5 thousand children were born within the month, – by 7.4 thousand fewer than a year earlier. Moreover, in some regions the number of births fell at a double-digit rate: by 18.7 % in Arkhangelsk region, by 19.4 % in the Republic of Karelia, by 18.6 % in Orel region, by 21.6 % in Kostroma region, and by 26.6 % in Smolensk region. The number of births in February was the lowest in more than 200 years, and this anti-record was repeated in March.

In January-February, the number of deaths in russia was 1.6 times higher than the number of births. However, at the regional level, the gap is many times higher: in Kaluga and Ivanovo regions, the death rate was twice as high as the birth rate, while in Vladimir and Belgorod regions, it was three times higher.

russian men who are due to serve in the army as part of the spring conscription that began on April 1 will not be allowed to leave the country. The authorities have already established the technical component of the previously announced restrictions on potential conscripts. These include banning conscripts from leaving for abroad, making real estate transactions, deprivation of the right to drive and a number of other measures.

In the rf, the prosecutor's office requested a 16-year sentence for russian serviceman roman ivanishin, who was accused of voluntarily surrendering to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In russia, a law is being drafted which calls tourism to belarus “domestic tourism”.

The future ruling coalition in Germany supports the EU’s plans to levy duties on belarusian fertilizers. The coalition declares its intention to continue “to ensure the effective application at the national level of sanctions imposed as a result of the aggressive war unleashed by russia”.

In March 2025, core inflation in the national currency (excluding seasonal goods and goods and services that change frequently in price in the short term or are regulated by the state) amounted to 6.1 % in annual terms. In February, the figure was 5.8 %, and in January it was 5.7 %. Last month, prices for fruit and vegetables (seasonal products) increased by 4.7 % (3.6 % and 2.7%,  respectively). State-regulated prices and tariffs increased by 5.4 % (+5.3 %, +4 %). The aggregate trend inflation rate (an inflation indicator cleared from impact of  different  shocks) was 5.2 % (+4.9 % and +4.8 %).

Massive searches of real estate agencies have been taking place in belarus almost all week. They are being conducted as part of a “state racket” to replenish the treasury at the expense of private businesses.

In Gomel region, regional police departments  received drones as a gift from a private company that claims to be a regular toy shop. The “gifts” were personally handed to the militiamen by the deputy minister of internal affairs when he was  visiting the districts bordering on Ukraine – Khoiniki, Loiev, Yelsk, Narovlya, Bragin and Mozyr. The militia received   FIMI X8, one of the cheapest non-professional drones that are not suitable for military tasks.

It is impossible to get an appointment to an orthodontist in Grodno clinics already for 2026. The situation with orthodontists has been deteriorating in all cities of belarus over the past two years. The main reason is the doctors’ emigration.