April 7, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer and President of France Emmanuel Macron have discussed the significant progress made in creation of the Coalition of the Determined to deploy a military contingent in Ukraine.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Espen Barth Eide has condemned russia’s attacks across Ukraine, calling them horrific.

The Embassies of Lithuania and Italy in Kyiv lowered their flags as a sign of mourning for Ukrainians killed as a result of the russian strike on a residential area in Kryvyi Rih.

“Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine remain under a ballistic and cruise missile attack from russia,” US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said about the russian missile attack on the night of April 6.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called for a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into russia’s missile attack on Kryvyi Rih using long-range weapons. He added that indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law, and if they are attacks directed against civilians, they can be qualified as war crimes.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna believes that Europe should confiscate russian assets blocked on its territory, as there is a risk of their use against European countries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen believes that the time has not yet come for European leaders to enter into the negotiation process with the rf. “It all depends on when russia begins to demonstrate a desire to re-join the international treaty system,” Valtonen stressed. According to the diplomat, now it is necessary to support Ukraine, weaken the rf with sanctions and build up own defense potential.

“The operation on the belarusian and russian sides is intensifying. This is not a coincidence, this is not a natural migration route. It’s all created, it’s all orchestrated,” Minister of Defence of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamisz said that the situation on the border with the rb has escalated because foreigners sent from the East have become even more cruel.

For the first time in almost a year and a half, the government of the rf will start selling foreign currency from the national welfare fund every day to compensate for the failure of oil and gas budget revenues, which fell by almost 20 % in February and March. From April 7 to May 12, the ministry of finance of the rf will sell yuan and gold from the nwf for 35.9 billion rubles, or 1.6 billion rubles a day. russian authorities are forced to use the “treasure container” as the cost of russian urals oil has fallen below $60 a barrel – the cutting point of the budget rule. Oil production has also decreased: now russia pumps about 9 million barrels a day, although a year ago it was 10 million or more. In March, oil and gas budget revenues decreased by 17 %, and according to the results of the first quarter – by 10 %. The ministry of finance has warned that it may not reach 2 trillion.

The russian ruble will collapse in the summer: the value of the US currency will again be more than 100 rubles. The foreign exchange market is influenced by geopolitics and prices for the “black gold”. The cynical truth: the state budget of the rf needs a weak russian ruble. It is for this reason that the national currency of russia will become cheaper.

The price of chicken eggs in russia on the eve of Easter will increase by an average of 4-10%. The prices of ingredients for Easter breads will also increase – butter, margarine, cheese, flour, and meat – pork, lamb, turkey, beef. Already in March, the average bill for meat was by 11 % higher than last year’s figures.

Retail lending continues to increase in the rf. Consumer loan approvals have reached their lowest level in at least a year. In parallel, the issuance of mortgages and car loans is falling. The main reason is the strengthening of the monetary policy of the bank of russia. Refusals from car loans reached 81.1 %, even higher is the figure for POS loans (issued directly at the point of sale) – 84 %, – by 6 % higher than last year. The approval rate for loan applications for young people under 25 fell to 14.6 % over the year. Now young people face loan refusals more often than representatives of other age groups – the national average is 21.3 %.

The need to recruit 160 thousand conscripts into the russian army pushes the military authorities to new creativity: after the raids on conscripts in fitness centers, moscow military commissars came for recruits to moscow universities, literally blocking the entrance for them.

belarus supplied by 15 % less fertilizers in 2024 than in 2023. The revenues of the rb fell: according to China’s customs, belarus received by 42 % less income from China than a year earlier. In March this year, the human rights center Viasna recorded at least 209 cases of politically motivated repression (detentions, searches, etc.).

Three minsk residents who conducted social research were accused of high treason. A resident of minsk prepared a study “for one of the foreign organizations containing knowingly false information about the health policy pursued in the country, in terms of the measures taken to fight coronavirus infection.”And two minsk residents “conducted a sociological study for a fee, which showed that people see advantages in European integration. The actions of the accused were qualified under Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code (high treason) and Part 2 of Article 243-3 of the Criminal Code (evasion of payment of insurance premiums, which caused damage on a particularly large scale). They are in prison.