December 21, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The USA is preparing a $1.2 billion military aid package for Ukraine.

Norway will finance part of the 186 million pounds package of military aid to Ukraine, which will be allocated through the International Fund for Ukraine under the leadership of the United Kingdom.

NATO's Senior Representative in Ukraine Patrick Turner has said that during 2024, the Alliance has tripled its presence in Ukraine and intends to strengthen it in 2025. He has also assured that work on Ukraine's request for the provision of 20 additional air defense systems for the protection of energy facilities is being carried out urgently.

Norwegian NASAMS air defence systems have been deployed in the Polish city of Rzeszów to ensure the security of a logistics hub which is key to supporting Ukraine.

This year, Lithuania will provide EUR 10 million for the implementation of Denmark’s initiative, which involves investing funds in the production of weapons on the territory of Ukraine.

Lithuania has announced its readiness to invest in the production of the Ukrainian missile-drone “Palianytsia”.

“If Ukraine wants to and is forced to sit down at the negotiating table, it should be only if Ukraine wins”, emphasized Prime Minister of Lithuania Gintautas Paluckas.

“Our costs for supporting more than a million (Ukrainian) refugees who have arrived in Germany amount to about EUR 7-8 billion”, said Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz.

In order to strengthen sanctions, Ukraine has provided the USA with the evidence of the use of Western technology in russian weapons.

EU heads of state and government have condemned russia's targeted strikes on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and called for an increase in electricity exports to Ukraine.

“We are aware of this attack. It once again shows the criminal nature of putin, who is a danger to Ukraine, to the EU, to all our security”, said a representative of the European Commission, Anitta Hipper, regarding the russian missile attack on Kyiv on December 20.

“russian and north korean ballistic missiles caused destruction in the very center of the capital of Ukraine – Kyiv. Again. Let these shots remind us of two things: russia does not seek peace, and this war is by no means regional”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsakhna regarding the rf’s missile attack on Kyiv on December 20.

US Chargé d'affaires at the OSCE Catherine Brooker has pointed out that this year there have been no signs that putin has changed his military goals and is ready to negotiate with Ukraine in a spirit of goodwill.

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“We should have no doubt: if russia has the determination and will to attack Lithuania, it will be worse for us than in Bucha or Irpin. They will not spare anyone: neither young nor old, nor women nor children. They still consider Ukrainians to be Slavs, while we, Balts, for them are fascists, who live very well. Don't be fooled, there will be no peace. This should make us very belligerent... every citizen is like a weapon, whether he or she is armed or not. Everyone can be a supporter or an assistant to the army”, said General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Commander of the Armed Forces of Lithuania.

“russia remains our most important security threat, and the dangerous peculiarity is that russia has intensified cooperation with north korea, iran and China”, Minister of Defence of Finland Antti Häkkänen said in the first defense report after the country's accession to NATO.

Poland is intensifying preparations to counter russia’s aggression – the penetration of their missiles and a potential conflict on its borders, by strengthening air defenses and building an eastern defensive shield worth EUR 2.5 billion, – said the country's Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak- Kamysz. “russia is the biggest threat since the end of the Second World War. There is an active war on our border. The threat from russia is real. Ukrainians feel it every day”, the Minister of National Defense is convinced.

A Polish court found a citizen of the rf, a hockey player of one of the Polish clubs, guilty of espionage and sentenced him to two years and 11 months in prison and a fine of EUR 1,220 (5,200 zlotys). He will be deported to the rf on May 26, 2025, until then he will serve his sentence in a prison in Lublin.

Eight concert halls across Sweden are canceling performances by the russian heritage ballet theater, whose ceo owns a company linked to the russian military.

gazprom’s shares fell by 1.25% to 106.7 after putin, during a direct line, recognised it impossible to extend the contract for the transit of russian gas through Ukraine. Quotations of the oil and gas company decreased by 0.71% to ₽ 107.28.

The tariff quota for wheat exports from the rf, which will be in effect from February 15 to June 30, 2025, has been reduced to 10.6 million tons, for exports of barley, rye and corn – to 0 tons.

On December 18, the official inflation rate in the rf was 9.14%, which is already higher than the central bank's forecast of 8.5%. In fact, during the three years of the war, inflation in russia has been about 20% per annum, financial experts believe.

The center for macroeconomic analysis and short-term forecasting of the rf predicts that due to the increase in rates, overdue debts will start to grow and banks will face problems.

In November, banks of the rf almost stopped retail lending.

In yakutia, a fire in a detention center for military prisoners who refused to return to the war against Ukraine after being wounded, killed five people and poisoned seven others with smoke. The Free Yakutia Foundation, which is listed in the register of “foreign agents,” has repeatedly reported torture of prisoners in the region.

The budget deficit of the rb for 2025 is planned at 4 billion 459.3 million rubles. minister of finance of the rb seliverstov explained this lack of money by the plans to take out new loans, as well as by being on the safe side. In 2024, the state budget deficit was planned at almost 4 billion 751.1 million rubles, a record high for the last five years.

In 2025, the rb will raise excise rates on cigarettes of the first and second price groups. For the former, they will be raised in January from the current 106.88 to 119.59 rubles (an 11.9% increase), and for the latter – from 155.85 to 163.64 rubles (a 5% increase). Excise rates on e-liquids for electronic smoking systems have been raised from 81 to 85 kopecks for 1 ml, an increase of 4.9%. Excise rates on non-tobacco nicotine-containing products were also raised from 97.63 to 102.51 rubles for 1 kilogram, a 5% increase.

The ministry of forestry of the rb has a large shortage of logging equipment operators.

Starting January 1, 2025, the price for a square meter of living space in an apartment building will increase in the rb. For minsk, it will increase by 5.4% to RUB 1,020. For regional cities and minsk district, a square meter will cost 850 rubles. In other settlements, the price for square meter will be raised to RUB 567. These rates will be used to pay the tax for 2025.

More than 54 million rubles will be allocated from the state budget to organize the presidential elections in the rb in 2025, which is significantly more than the 2020 election budget of 36 million 830,100 rubles.

Mass detentions and searches took place in dzerzhinsk. siloviki were interested in people who had been independent observers in the previous elections, as well as those who were investigated for participation in post-election protests.