April 18, 2022 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said the new sanctions against russia would affect the financial and energy sectors. “We continue to consider the banking sector, especially sberbank, which accounts for 37% of russia's banking sector. And, of course, we are talking about energy issues”, stressed the Head of the European Commission, emphasizing that the next stage of sanctions will affect oil supplies from russia. Ursula von der Leyen is convinced that Western sanctions will further destroy russia's economy, and default in the country is only a matter of time – according to the latest forecasts, russia's GDP will fall by 11%.

The European Union has announced the allocation of another 45 million euros to Ukraine to finance humanitarian projects and help Ukrainians affected by the russian invasion, according to a press release from the European Commission. The funding is part of a € 1 billion support package pledged by the European Commission at last week's global “Stand Up For Ukraine” event. The EU’s assistance is to meet the most pressing humanitarian needs, in particular those related to medical care, access to drinking water and housing. The money should also go to measures against gender-based violence. “We must be prepared for a further increase in russia's relentless attacks on Ukraine, especially in the east. With this additional € 50 million, the EU continues to rapidly provide humanitarian funding to its partners to further expand aid. Ukraine, we are with you”, said the European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic.

France has frozen 41 properties due to sanctions against russia and estimated them at $ 620 million, but in reality the value of the property is approaching $ 1 billion. This was reported by Forbes. These are property belonging to sanctioned russian citizens, which has been frozen since the russian invasion of Ukraine. Of the total list of 41 objects, 31 on the list belong to eight oligarchs. While France estimates all frozen assets at $ 620 million, Forbes estimates that only 31 oligarchs' assets are worth more than $ 920 million based on reports for the Billionaires of the World list and purchase price history. In particular, the estates of the following oligarchs have been blocked:

roman abramovich: frozen real estate is estimated at $ 340 million. He owns the estate of Château de la Croë (32 thousand square feet) on the French Riviera, with 12 rooms and a swan-shaped bathroom formerly owned by British King Edward VIII. In the Caribbean, Saint Barthelemy, France, the oligarch owns a 70-acre Gouverneur estate with bungalows and several tennis courts and swimming pools. Le Lurin estate has also been frozen by the French authorities.

victor rashnikov: his frozen real estate is estimated at $ 200 million. Through his daughter olga he has the Villa Nellcôte estate with 16 rooms on the Riviera. Three properties on the territory of Villa Nellcôte have been frozen by the French authorities. Forbes also found rashnikov's apartments in central Paris, which have already been frozen. They are located on the same street as the Elysee Palace, which is now occupied by French President Emmanuel Macron. Built in the 1890s, the villa has a swimming pool and crystal chandeliers, and is home to prominent figures: in the 1940s the Gestapo lived there during the Nazi occupation of France, and in 1971 it was rented by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

aleksandr ponomarenko: his frozen real estate is estimated at 176 million dollars. He has two villas (170 thousand square meters) on the Riviera.

andrei melnichenko: his frozen real estate is estimated at $ 80 million. He owns Villa Altair in Antibes, France, with a home theater, wine cellar, sauna and swimming pool. Three more properties belonging to the Altair villa have been frozen by the French.

arkady rotenberg: his frozen real estate is valued at $ 62 million. Owns the estate of Villa Shoshana (97 thousand square feet) on the Riviera. In 2014, he bought it for $ 47 million.

aleksei kuzmichev: his frozen real estate is estimated at $ 57 million. Kuzmichev owns the villa La Petite Ourse on the coast of St. Tropez on the Riviera. The house has the same name as his already confiscated yachts – 79-foot La Petite Ourse and 54-foot La Petite Ourse II.

vadim moshkovich: his frozen real estate is estimated at $ 6 million. He has a villa (almost 10 acres) on the Riviera in Nice which he bought for 3.6 million USdollars in 1998.

gennadiy timchenko: the exact cost estimate is unknown. Through his wife, yelena, he has two properties on the Riviera. Two other real estate properties nearby were registered for the daughter of timchenko, ksenia frank-timchenko, both of which are frozen. These houses are located on the same street as Le Club de Cavalière, a 5-star hotel and spa with a private beach, which yelena owns through the French company Sogeco. She also owns Le Grand Coeur, a 4-star hotel and spa in the Meribel Alpine Ski Area. Both hotels are on the list of frozen property.

According to the American Forbes, russian businessmen of games igor and dmitry bukhman - the founders of Playrix, which develops mobile games, nikolai storonsky - co-founder of Revolut, and investor yuri milner, who is an Israeli citizen and has not been in russia since 2014 and does not have its assets there, – all ask not to call them russian businessmen.

A group of US senators believes that the United States is providing Ukraine with “historic amounts of assistance” and that the White House should appoint a person in charge of security assistance to Ukraine to speed up and improve interdepartmental and international coordination. The coordinator could be responsible for assessing Ukraine's defense needs, coordinating the efforts of various US agencies, and coordinating with Europe. Speaking on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin said the aid to Ukraine comes “faster than many thought realistic”. According to the Pentagon, since the beginning of the rf’s new invasion, the United States has provided Ukraine with approximately $ 2.6 billion in security assistance.

According to a poll conducted by the statistical service YouGov together with The Economist, sanctions against russia are supported by 68% of Americans.

Large-scale military exercises using the situations of russian invasion of Ukraine have begun at the California National Defense Training Center in Fort Irvine. According to US generals, the task of the exercises is to prepare for battles with an enemy such as russia or China, using lessons learned from russia's war against Ukraine. “… Now the whole army is really watching what is happening in Ukraine and trying to learn lessons”, said US Army General Christine Wormouth.

Germany has joined a group of 12 countries that have allowed Ukrainian carriers to operate bilateral and transit traffic on an unauthorized basis until June 30. Until now, Germany allowed free transportation for Ukrainian operators only for transit.

Bulgaria has banned russian ships from entering their ports. The ban came into force at 00:00 on April 16 and applies to all sea and river ports in Bulgaria. It applies not only to ships under the russian flag, but also to those who changed it after February 24, 2022, when russia invaded Ukraine. Exceptions are provided only for ships in distress or in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as for ships carrying energy carriers, food and medicine to EU countries.

Estonia’s government has banned russian ships from entering their ports since Sunday, April 17. The Ministry of Economy and Communications has said that for ships that changed their flag from Russian flag to some other country’s after February 24, the ports of the European Union are also currently closed. However, in exceptional cases, russian ships in distress will be able to enter Estonian ports. In doing so, they must obtain permission from the Estonian Police and Border Guard, which will determine in advance the need for assistance.

So now all EU countries have closed their ports to russian ships.

Well-known Western coffee brands continue to leave the russian market. Italian manufacturer Lavazza has announced a complete cessation of activities in russia. Another popular brand - Finnish Paulig – left russia in March and closed its coffee roasting plant in tver.

The Czech city of Ostrava wants to donate to Ukraine serviceable trams, which are put up for sale by Dopravní podnik Ostrava. This was announced by Mayor of Ostrava Tomasz Matsura. Also, according to Matsura, the city wants to send buses and firefighting equipment to Ukraine as another gift. All necessary documents are currently being prepared.

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russian president vladimir putin has signed a law demanding from all russian companies to delist from foreign exchanges and place their shares on russian ones. Therefore, the turnover of depository receipts on foreign exchanges should stop within 10 days from the date of publication of the law. Companies will be given five working days to take the necessary steps to terminate depository receipt agreements. In some cases, the russian government may allow further circulation of shares already issued outside the country. russian companies have pledged to return amid falling shares of russia's largest issuers on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) following russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. More than 30 depository receipts of russian companies, including “Gazprom”, “rosneft”, and “Lukoil”, are traded in the US and EU markets.

A new type of banking fraud is spreading in russia. Against the background of international sanctions against the russian banking sector, fraudsters began to offer Android users to install fake banking programs that have been removed from Google Play. As a result, such cards are blocked, personal data and money are stolen.

The russian-occupied Crimea is highly dependent on subsidies. And the rf’s economy is on the verge of infarctation due to the imposition of international sanctions against russia as an aggressor country. In the first two weeks of April alone, oil production in russia fell by 7.4%. russian oilmen are shutting down wells due to a sharp drop in world demand for russian oil. It is toxic, the world community does not want to get its hands dirty. At the same time, irina mezavtsova, the so-called “deputy minister of industrial policy of Crimea”, based on statistics, says that prices for borscht vegetables in Crimea are lower than in neighboring regions of the southern federal district. This is largely due to looting and bringing agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territories of the southern regions of mainland Ukraine. There is a shortage and rising prices for imported goods on the peninsula. Coffee has risen in price so much that the occupying authorities are forced to make detailed reassuring comments that stocks for 2-3 months are available, one must be patient, new parties will soon be brought through Iran. Meanwhile, the food drama is looming. russian propagandists started talking about “economic mobilization”, tightening belts, and shameful thieves from the 1990s who are dragging everyone back. These formidable tirades directly concern the member of the Crimean organized criminal formations of the 90's Aksyonov, known in the gangster world under the nickname “goblin”. Recently, “goblin” has stopped making loud statements, and is afraid to go out into the world. russia may start hunting for thieves from the 1990s. And he is the first candidate from Crimea.

The term of implementation of the russian project “clean air” has been postponed for two years - until the end of 2026, - admitted the head of the ministry of environment kozlov. “The investment plans of the companies are adjusted point by point, but are not canceled”, he said. In 2019, the implementation of the project of quotas on air pollution began, but it is progressing slowly.

Google continues to block the chechen YouTube channel “vainakh”, despite roskomnadzor’s requests to open access to it.

“soyuzmultfilm” has blocked the soviet-era cartoon “Treasures of Sunken Ships” for russians to watch on YouTube. The reason is that one of the heroes pointed to a sunken warship, very similar to the “Moscow” military cruiser destroyed by Ukrainian missiles, on a board of which there is a sign Z 29, by which the Nazis marked their ships.