February 14, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Minister of Defence of Norway Tore O. Sandvik has announced his country’s joining the Drone Coalition working within the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.

Norway has announced its intention to provide Ukraine with additional air defense systems worth NOK 1.2 billion (almost $107 million).

Minister of Defence of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans said at the Ramstein meeting that the Netherlands had delivered the last promised T-72 battle tanks to Ukraine in cooperation with the Czech Republic and the United States. Ukraine will also receive 25 YPR armored tracked vehicles from the Netherlands to transport the wounded.

The European defense technology company Helsing has announced that it is producing six thousand HX-2 attack drones with artificial intelligence for delivery to Ukraine.

The European Commission has announced the completion of the formation of the Audit Board for the Ukraine Facility, a mechanism for providing macro-financial assistance to Ukraine until 2027.

“Obviously, we have to ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position when the negotiations begin, and we have to make sure that when the negotiations are over, the peace in Ukraine that results from those negotiations is achievable and lasting,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said before an informal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine and emphasized that “there can be no lasting peace in Europe without security for Ukraine and that any peaceful outcome must include Ukraine.”

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the European Commission have coordinated their efforts to achieve a just peace in Ukraine, which is essential for the long-term security of the whole of Europe. “We are ready to step up our support for Ukraine. We share the goal of continuing to support Ukraine until a just, comprehensive and lasting peace is achieved,” reads the joint statement.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of France, Germany and Spain have emphasized that no peace agreement on Ukraine can be reached without participation of Kyiv and its European partners.

Minister of National Defense of Lithuania Dovile Šakalienė has said that the United States is not turning away from its allies, but demands that Europe does more for its security.

“It is absolutely clear to me that there should be no decision that does not involve the United States. The next task is to ensure that there is no imposed peace,” Chancellor of the FRG Olaf Scholz said regarding potential peace talks on Ukraine.

“We cannot negotiate without the involvement of Ukraine. Peace in Europe is at stake, so we Europeans must be involved,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock regarding potential peace talks.

Leader of the British right-wing party Reform UK Nigel Farage has expressed support for Ukraine’s accession to NATO.

rf

Switzerland has fully joined the 15th package of EU sanctions against russia.

Regardless of the US plans, the European Union will impose new sanctions against the russian energy sector. This was stated by the official representative of the European Commission Paula Pinho.

The European Court of Human Rights has found russia guilty of systematic suppression of freedom of speech and persecution of people for criticizing the war against Ukraine. The Court has emphasized that all the verdicts of russian courts in Crimea are illegal.

The London Court of Appeal has rejected the russian government's attempt to overturn a court ruling on a $63 billion lawsuit filed by former yukos shareholders.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova has terminated the intergovernmental agreement with the rf on the establishment and operation of cultural centers due to russia's violation of Moldova's national sovereignty.

russian oil companies are preparing to start a forced production cut because they cannot sell millions of barrels of oil. The Biden administration's “farewell” sanctions have resulted in a surplus of oil in russia which cannot be exported abroad. Export deliveries from the ports of ust-luga and primorsk on the Baltic Sea, as well as novorossiysk on the Black Sea, fell by 17% in January, and the cost of freighting tankers to export oil through the Pacific port of kozmino soared fivefold. As a result, during the month of sanctions, oil producers accumulated 17 million unsold barrels, which are drifting in tankers turned into floating storage facilities. By the beginning of summer, this volume may increase to 50 million barrels.

The rf’s oil companies have also faced problems when shipping railway tanks with oil cargo by railway due to the “russian railways”’ refusing to accept them for transportation, which threatens to disrupt supplies to the domestic market. More than 40 % of the daily load is not accepted for transportation, and in the first week of February, the average daily load of oil and oil products decreased by 16 % year-on-year and by 12 % compared to January.

The series of Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries in russia, which in January became a record since the beginning of the war, has led to the shutdown of 10% of oil refinery capacity.

At the same time, due to the strikes on russian refineries and other oil refining facilities, stock exchange prices for popular petrol brands AI-92 and AI-95 have increased by almost 1 % and 4 %, respectively, since the beginning of 2025. On February 12, the average price of petrol of the popular AI-92 and AI-95 brands amounted to almost 54 thousand rubles and 58 thousand rubles per ton, respectively. The rise in petrol prices is expected to increase inflation in the rf, as the cost of goods depends on logistics costs.

The government of the rf is developing a plan to support russia’s post, which, after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, lost revenues from international mail and over three years has accumulated a net loss of more than 30 billion rubles. The bailout package for the state corporation will include a RUB 5.9 billion injection from the budget by raising fees for the delivery and transfer of pensions and social benefits: currently, they amount to 1.17 % of the amount delivered, but will increase to 1.5 % as part of amendments to the budget law.

russian authorities have forced one of the country’s largest technology companies, “yandeks”, to work in favor of continuing the war in Ukraine. In 2024, the IT giant, through its own advertising network, showed users of its services and other major resources of the runet (russian internet) advertisements for contract service in the russian army more than 1 billion times.

A military registration register with electronic summonses has been launched in russia. A notice about the visit to the military commissariat is automatically entered into the register and is considered to have been served a week after it is sent. From this date, the person liable for military service will be banned from leaving russia. After that, the person who received the summons must report to the military commissariat within 20 calendar days, otherwise he will be restricted in other rights: he will be banned from making real estate transactions, deprived of the right to drive, receive loans, and register as an individual entrepreneur or self-employed.

A draft law has been submitted to the state duma that would allow russians to be drafted into the army based on the decisions of previous conscription campaigns.

russian president's plenipotentiary representative in the urals federal district artyom zhoga has stated the need to develop long-term programs to support the participants in the invasion of Ukraine, who will be returning from the front en masse “in the near future”. Against the background of the return of participants in the war with Ukraine, including former prisoners, in 2024, russia recorded a record 14-year increase in serious and especially serious crimes. According to the ministry of internal affairs of the rf, 617,301 such crimes were detected last year, the highest number since 2010.

Representatives of businesses should actively create conditions that would motivate employees to have children, said olga batalina, first deputy minister of labor of the rf. “We have not seen any corporate policies aimed at encouraging new births,” she said.

The state duma of the rf has passed in the first reading a draft law that reduces from four to two the number of mandatory tests as part of the main state exam for ninth-graders who are going to enter secondary vocational education institutions.

Foreigners will be obliged to take an oath at the age of 14 when applying for russian citizenship. The state duma has passed such draft law in the first reading.

The prosecutor general's office of the rf has declared the activities of the Portuguese non-governmental organization Association of Free russians (Associacao de russos livres) undesirable in russia. The agency claims that its founders and members “openly advocate the overthrow of the government in the rf, are against the “special military operation”, and raise money for the Ukrainian Army.

The russian occupying authorities intend to “nationalize” another 720 properties owned by Ukrainian citizens in Crimea.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on lukashenko's regime to release nearly 1,300 political prisoners who remain in jails all over belarus.

The Ministry of National Defence of Poland has announced that work has been completed on the first section of fortifications under the Eastern Shield project, which includes the creation of additional defense structures on the border with belarus and russia, equipment of positions, and development of engineering infrastructure.

The “borscht” set was among the leaders of price growth last month in belarus: beets added 12.5 %, fresh white cabbage – 12.2 %, carrots – 11.9 %, onions – 9.2 %, potatoes – 7.8 %. Herring became more expensive by 5.5 %, chocolate – by 4.6 %, oil (except for olive oil) – by 4.4 %, cocoa powder – by 4.3 %. Some cereals have seen a significant rise in price. For example, pearl barley – by 3 %, semolina – by 2.6 %, and corn flakes – by 2.2 %.

In 2024, the rb increased imports of consumer goods by 14.1 % to $14.14 billion. In the structure of imports, purchases of non-food products increased by 15.6 % to $10.59 billion, and of food products – by 10 % to $3.55 billion.

Last year, foreigners invested $6.9 billion in the belarusian economy, which is by 10 % less than in 2023.

The belarusian vaccine “belkovidvak”, which cost more than $30 million to be developed, has proved to be ineffective in the long run. Studies have shown that after 180 days, the vaccine completely loses its protective properties. This means that six months after vaccination, human immunity returns to the same level as before the vaccination.

authorities of the rb keep lists of people in certain professions who are suspected of disloyalty to the regime, in particular, athletes and former law enforcement officers.