April 30, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

“Another 1,500 combat drones are on their way from Latvia to Ukraine. In the first half of the year, two Latvian companies will deliver 12,000 drones as part of the Drone Coalition,” said Minister of Defence of Latvia Andris Sprūds.

The international summit of the Drone Coalition will be held in Riga on May 28.

President of the FRG Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said that his country will continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine, remaining its largest supporter in Europe.

“...The three-day truce announced by putin on the anniversary of the victory in World War II is something else and is clearly insufficient. Peace must be fair and lasting,” said Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni.

“I think it should be clear to everyone, especially to putin: we will stand with Ukraine. We will support Ukraine and offer it the opportunity to be on an equal footing with russia,” said future Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has said that over the next eight to ten days, international pressure on russia will be increased to achieve a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine.

“Our position is very clear. russia can stop killing and bombing at any time, so there is absolutely no need to wait until May 8 – they can do it now, right now,” said Spokesperson for the European Commission Anitta Hipper.

“Our position remains unchanged: we want to see an end to the war... It must be principled and consistent and firmly based on the UN Charter, international law and all relevant resolutions,” said Spokesperson for UN Secretary- General Stéphane Dujarric.

“The President (Trump) has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire first to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed,” White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt commented on putin’s announcement of a “truce”.

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russia continues to lose ground in the arms market in India, which has been the kremlin’s largest arms buyer since the soviet era and in recent years has provided 20 % of rosoboroneksport’s orders. The Indian government has signed a contract to purchase 26 Rafale naval fighters from France for $7.4 billion. The deal also includes maintenance of 36 French fighters purchased by New Delhi 9 years ago. The Ministry of Defense of India intends to gradually replace the outdated fleet of russian MiG29-Ks with French fighters, which will be deployed on the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier.

russian diplomats were not invited to commemorative events in honor of the liberation of Denmark during World War II.

Egyptian airline AlMasria Universal Airlines will cut its flight program from russia to the resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada and back by almost a third. The reason for the schedule revision is the secondary sanctions imposed by the European Union, which have limited the company’s ability to purchase aircrafts.

Prices for air and railway tickets in russia have soared by 300-400 % before the May holidays.

The number of criminal cases of theft against participants in the war against Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025 in russia more than doubled compared to the same period in 2024.

The wives of war veterans in Ukraine have to “kiss their feet” and endure beatings after their husbands’ return from the front. This was stated by Sergey Karnaukhov, host of Solovyov Live.

As of the first quarter of 2025, about 500 thousand new passenger cars are in the warehouses of car dealers in the rf. Out of half a million, about 300-350 thousand are Chinese cars and 150-200 thousand are russian, belarusian, global alternatives, as well as pseudo-russian and pseudo-Korean cars. According to the results of the first quarter, sales of new passenger cars in russia decreased by 27 % year-on-year. A total of 287.2 thousand cars were sold since the beginning of the year. In March, sales fell to 45 %.

In the second half of 2024, the number of borrowers of microfinance organizations in the rf increased to 10 million, having increased by 0.5 million over six months. More than 50 % of borrowers have mortgage debt of up to RUB 3 million.

To understand how finances work in russia,  minister of finance of the rf anton siluanov has advised to study literary classics such as Gogol’s books “The Government Inspector” and “Dead Souls”, as well as Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”.

The most popular coffee drink in russia, cappuccino, has risen in price by 57 % over the past six years. Its average price has jumped to 187 rubles, by 16 % higher than a year ago. The average price of espresso in rrussia has also increased and is now 116 rubles (by 14 % more expensive than in 2024), a standard Americano will cost 133 rubles (+ 14 %), and a latte will cost 197 rubles (+15 %).

Lithuania will not rush to respond to belarus’ proposal to resume passenger railway service between the two countries. This was stated by the country’s Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas.

In 2024, belarusian authorities continued to crack down on any form of public criticism, increased pressure on independent media and civil society, and abused the judicial system to punish peaceful protesters. Torture and cruel treatment remained widespread, with complete impunity for perpetrators. Enforced disappearances of prisoners were used. Members of the LGBTI community continued to face persecution. Refugees and migrants were forcibly expelled across the borders with the EU. Climate change policy remained insufficient. This is stated in the report of Amnesty International, prepared as part of the annual report “The State of the World’s Human Rights”.