February 1, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

“We reaffirm the European Union's unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as well as for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the UN Charter and international law, in accordance with the key principles and objectives of Ukraine’s Peace Formula. We emphasize the principle that no initiative on Ukraine can take place without Ukraine,” the EU said in a statement delivered at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.

Finland will provide Ukraine with the 27th batch of military aid worth almost EUR 200 million. The total value of defense equipment supplied by Finland to our country is EUR 2.5 billion. “Defence assistance upholds the right of independent nations to exist and safeguards human lives in Ukraine,” said Minister of Defence of Finland Antti Häkkinen.

“Now is not the time to argue whether it is EUR 3 billion more or EUR 3 billion less, because objectively, unfortunately, we see every day that Ukraine actually needs not EUR 3 billion, but... EUR 30 billion. I want there to be no doubt not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe that the SPD is united on the side of Ukraine,” Dietmar Nitan, a member of the Bundestag and member of the Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, is against the controversy over additional aid to our country.

EU Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas has pointed out that the administration of US President Donald Trump understands the need to put pressure on russia to end the war the rf unleashed against Ukraine.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský has said that Europeans should impose on russia their conditions for possible negotiations with Ukraine. “They (the rf) want us to believe that the Ukrainian Government is not capable of negotiating. We should not fall into this trap,” he emphasized.

The Czech Republic is looking for support from other EU countries to organize a new initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine.

The UK Government has renewed a program that simplifies visa rules for Ukrainian children to enter the country.

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US President Donald Trump has promised that he will impose 100% tariffs on the BRICS countries if they decide to create their own currency to replace the US dollar.

American investment company Goldman Sachs is selling its business in russia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský has warned that russian secret services are using russian diplomats and their relatives to commit acts of sabotage in Europe. What is meant here is an unprecedented network of russian diplomats and their families. In the Schengen area, their number is at least two thousand people.

Police of Norway arrested the russian-owned Silver Dania ship on suspicion of involvement in damaging a fiber optic cable in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Sweden.

Almost a year of negotiations between the rf and     Türkiye to resolve problems with banks and payment cards that arose after the tightening of US sanctions ended to no result. The cards of the russian payment system “mir” will not work in Türkiye.

Strengthening Western sanctions has led to a drop in russian exports at the end of 2024. In October-December, the economy earned $99.6 billion from exporting goods abroad, down by 7% from the fourth quarter of last year.

Last year, the average technical speed of freight trains on the russian railway network fell to 40.6 km/h, the lowest since 1960. The average sectional speed, which includes the time spent at stops, dropped to 35.7 km/h, the lowest since 1993. During the year, freight trains, which account for almost 90% of all transportation in russia, began to travel by 4-5% slower on average. In comparison with 2021, speeds fell by almost 10%.

The russian car market is facing a high level of overstocking in distributors' warehouses. As of the beginning of 2025, dealers have accumulated about 700 thousand cars, which is almost twice as many as at the beginning of last year (about 400 thousand units). russian-made cars account for about 52% of the stock.

In russia, spare parts for foreign cars went up by an average of 50% in 2024. Electronic components, such as sensors, cameras, and control units, rose in price the most, some of them almost doubling. Transmission and engine components (turbines, clutches, fuel pumps) are second, with prices rising by an average of 1.5 times. Pads and disks are in third place, with their prices having increased by 30-55%.

russians refuse to study to become workers despite the government's calls on them to go to factories. In the 2024/25 academic year, only 17% of students (or 219,495 people) enrolled in russian colleges and technical schools chose skilled worker training programs. At the same time, the vast majority – 82.63% (1.04 million students) – preferred to study for middle-level specialties.

Since 2017, 10,018 violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms have been recorded in the temporarily occupied Crimea, 6,730 of which were committed against the Crimean Tatar people.

The state duma is considering a package of draft laws which will prohibit “foreign agents” from working in the education sector and from obtaining the status of socially oriented non-profit organizations.

The rf’s ministry of education proposes to change the package of documents required for enrolling children of foreign citizens in schools. To enter an educational institution, it will be necessary to provide not only documents proving the identity of the child, but also confirmation of the legal residence of his/her representatives. To be enrolled, the child’s dactyloscopic registration will be a must.

The rf’s ministry of education has also proposed to increase the birth rate through school discos, and positively evaluates the return of school uniforms, as this way “boys dress like boys, girls dress like girls.”

In January-November 2024, 1.124 million babies were born in the rf. This figure was lower than the results of the same period in 2023.

russians' demand for summer tours to Egypt increased sharply after the spill of thousands of tons of fuel oil in the Black Sea and the pollution of the beaches of the krasnodar territory. Early bookings by tour operators increased 2-6 times compared to the same period last year.

The russian ministry of emergency situations in the krasnodar territory has signed a government contract to clean up fuel oil-contaminated sand from anapa beaches with the company of local businesswoman anaida kolomeitseva. Previously, she and the companies she owned were held administratively and criminally liable for violating environmental laws.

In the mayoral election in st. petersburg’s satellite town of berezovsky, the incumbent mayor, yevgeny pistsov, representing united russia, lost to a technical candidate, the wife of his driver, yulia maslakova.

In 2024, russians spent 2.4 trillion rubles on the services of tarot readers and extrasensory perception experts, – an amount equivalent to half of moscow's budget. The income of all sorts of esotery experts who provide magical services grows by 30% annually. For example, in 2023, their earnings in russia reached 2 trillion rubles, while last year alone, russians spent 1.9 billion rubles on marketplaces on tarot card sets and fortune-telling guides alone.

The lower house of the russian parliament is working on a draft law banning satanism in russia.

dmitry medvedev, deputy head of the russian security council, has announced the need to immediately expel foreigners who suffer from dangerous diseases or use drugs.

Data from human rights defenders in the rb show an increase in the number of administrative proceedings for political reasons. In the fourth quarter of 2024, 1,077 such trials were registered, which is 2.5 times more than in the third quarter.

The court of the central district of gomel has recognized the documentary “Forest” as “extremist”. The film tells real-life stories about stalin's repressions in the 1930s.

As of May 1, 2020, 1922 media outlets were registered in the rb. As of December 1, 2024, there were 1,143 left. In just four and a half years, 779 media outlets   “disappeared”.

The minsk toilet, for which in 2009, the minsk city executive committee issued a permit for reconstruction into a fish restaurant with the preservation of a public toilet, is at auction again. In September 2024, the abandoned building was already put up for auction, and at least 130,800 rubles were wanted for it. But there were no buyers, so now there is a new attempt.