February 15, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

“Fortunately, the bravery of the Ukrainians and the allies who stood with them, especially at the beginning of the war, deterred and defeated putin and prevented him from achieving what he wanted, which was all of Ukraine,” said US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

“They (Ukrainians) know that the United States is involved economically and that we have an economic interest in Ukraine. It's another part of the security guarantee for Ukraine, and they should see it that way,” said US President's Special Envoy for Ukraine and russia Keith Kellogg.

“There are economic tools of leverage, there are, of course, military tools of leverage, that the United States can use against putin, ” said US Vice President J.D. Vance regarding potential negotiations with russia.

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk has said that Ukraine, Europe and the United States should be united and participate in potential “peace talks” together.

EU Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas has emphasized that any peace agreement concluded without the participation of Ukraine and Europe would have no chance of success.

“...We will never support a dictated peace. We also will not accept any decision that would lead to the separation of European and American security. There is only one person who would benefit from this – putin,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the FRG Annalena Baerbock has reiterated that there must be no peace in Ukraine “over the heads of Ukrainians and Europeans”.

“Who can believe that after three years of heroic resistance to the aggressor with the support of allies, Ukrainians can put down their weapons for a clumsy agreement that does not guarantee their security in the long term?” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noel Barrot.

“NATO’s Article 5 is working. It must be properly presented, explained, and made clear that the aggressor cannot choose its preferred options from a menu,” said President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, pointing out that any peace agreement regarding Ukraine must be reached in such a way that “there is not the slightest temptation to test NATO’s full capacity as an organization”.

Deputy Envoy for Ukraine John Coale has assured that Ukraine's membership in NATO “is still on the table”.

German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems plans to double its production in Ukraine in 2025.

The German company HENSOLDT is considering the possibility of deploying defense production in Ukraine.

The second Ukrainian company has started exporting bio-methane to Europe.

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On February 14, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced his readiness to continue to impose sanctions against the russian energy sector if ordered by US President Donald Trump.

The UK Economic and Finance Ministry has expanded the sanctions list against russia. The list includes billionaire artem chaika, deputy defense minister pavel fradkov, and director of the federal service for technical and export control vladimir selin. Among the legal entities subject to the restrictions are “rosatom additive technologies” and the “kirov-energomash” plant in st. petersburg. The sanctions include a ban on entry to the UK and freezing assets. According to the UK Economic and Finance Ministry, the sanctioned entities “are or were involved in benefiting from or supporting the russian government.” Since February 24, 2022, the United Kingdom has imposed anti-russian sanctions on more than 1,900 individuals and legal entities.

“putin will continue to attack us in a hybrid way. He will continue to be a threat to our continent,” said Minister of Defence of Germany Boris Pistorius.

“What he (putin) really wants is to satisfy his imperialistic ambitions and continue redrawing borders with the help of force. The kremlin is sticking to its tried and tested tactics – claiming what does not belong to it and making groundless demands. It works as long as we allow it,” said Ministerof Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys.

“After all that the russians have done over the past 15 years, after they are still attacking Ukraine and waging a treacherous hybrid war against Europe, peace with russia is still a long way off,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen.

“This shows once again that russia is not looking for peace,” EU Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas commented on the attack on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna has said that by attacking the Chornobyl NPP with a drone, russia demonstrates yet again that it is a threat to the whole world.

Estonia’s Navy is prepared to act against vessels that pose a threat to the Baltic Sea infrastructure, even if they are in international waters, said Deputy Commander of the Estonian Navy Johan-Elias Seljamaa.

Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean believes that there is now an international context that could lead to russia withdrawing its troops from Transnistria.

In Moldova, Ukrainian and Moldovan police detained three mercenaries of the international criminal organization “wagner” and other illegal armed formations fighting against Ukraine.

In Poland, two citizens of the rf have been imprisoned for 5.5 years for membership in a group of mercenaries of the international criminal organization “wagner” and espionage in favor of the rf.

The rf central bank rate, which regulates the cost of loans to the economy and the return on investments in rubles, will remain at 21 %, the highest in russia since 2002. Annual inflation as of February 10 had accelerated to 10 % from 9.5 % at the end of last year and 7.4 % in 2023. Monthly inflation rates are even higher: seasonally adjusted in the fourth quarter of last year, they reached 12.1 percent in annual terms. According to the regulator's forecast, the return of inflation to the 4 % target is postponed until 2026.

Falling oil prices, budgetary constraints, and rising “bad” corporate debt are among the main macroeconomic risks facing russia. The scenario of a sharp economic slowdown to a technical recession is becoming increasingly likely.

Freight rates for tankers carrying urals crude oil on routes from russian ports in the Baltic to India soared in February to $7-$8 million from $6-6.5 million in mid-January amid rising exports and pressure from new US sanctions. The increase in freight rates since mid-January has been about 20 %, which has led to higher costs of the delivery of russian oil to consumers and a reduction in moscow's energy export revenues.

The government of the rf has allowed russian power generating companies to give up the modernization of more than a dozen power plants across the country due to lack of funds and uncertainty with the supply of equipment.

In January, the rf’s importers were unable to pay for goods worth up to $5.4 billion.

The average bill for dental services in russia has increased by 10 %.

Russian telecommunications operators have sharply slowed down the pace of cellular network development since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine. While in 2019-2021, the number of 4G base stations in the country grew by an average of 14.3 % annually, the figure has dropped to 4.3 % per year over the past three years. In 2024, the number of stations increased by only 3.9 % year-on-year.

The russian car market has almost run out of inexpensive new foreign cars that were very popular with russians. These include models such as Hyundai Solaris, Kia Rio, Renault Logan and Duster, Volkswagen Polo, and Skoda Rapid. The remaining officially produced or imported cars of non-Chinese origin have been sold.

As of the end of 2024, 376,000 russians were seriously injured and disabled at the front, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimates in its annual Military Balance report. According to IISS, the total losses of the russian army since the beginning of the war amount to 783 thousand people. Of these, 172 thousand were killed and 611 thousand were wounded. Of the wounded, 235,000 are classified as curable, while the rest are cripples. Among the seriously wounded, every second person faced amputation of limbs. Thus, according to IISS calculations, the number of disabled people with amputations among those who have returned from the front may exceed 180,000.

The oldest cities in russia today are the industrial centers of the North of russia, Siberia and the Far East. Among the twenty small towns with the largest share of dilapidated and emergency housing stock, Kizlyar, Dagestan, is in second place; also two Tula towns – Belev and Donskoy, Babayevo, Vologda, Zelenogradsk, Kaliningrad, and Kamenogorsk, Leningrad region.

Experts say that these cities cannot be eliminated, closed or relocated. There are slums even in the rich oil provinces of Siberia.

Vice-prime minister of the rf golikova has acknowledged that the situation with personnel in the country will not change in the coming years: the economy needs 3.1 million people by 2030. According to her, the largest growth in demand for labour is expected in the manufacturing sector (703 thousand people), transportation and storage (472 thousand) and construction (385 thousand).

According to the central bank’s report on the regional economy, housing commissioning in russia fell sharply at the end of 2024, – by 13.3 % at once. In December, housing commissioning decreased the most in the south of russia – by 23.1 %. In the northwest, a bit less – by 22.6 %, and in the central part – by 14.9 %. In 2024, there was a greater postponement of apartment buildings to future periods than in previous years, due to a decline in demand, a slowdown in the filling of escrow accounts amid rising construction inflation. In 2025, the volume of new residential construction projects will decrease significantly – by 27-38%, from 48 to 30-35 million square meters. This year, experts also expect a decline in housing sales in russia by about 20-30 %.

The profitability of the agriculture of the rf in 2024 decreased to 18 %.

The government of the rf did not support the legislative initiative to introduce administrative liability for publicly justifying or promoting domestic violence.

The russian liberal democratic party has prepared a draft law on payments to couples who have been officially married for at least 30 years. The draft law provides for payments on official marriage anniversaries: 30 thousand rubles for 30 years of marriage, 40 thousand rubles for 40 years of marriage, 60 thousand rubles for 60 years, and 70 thousand rubles for the 70th anniversary.

Vice-speaker of the state duma davankov has proposed to create an independent efficiency agency. In his opinion, it will allow to replace a third of officials in russia with artificial intelligence.

“The beginning of sexual activity is 16 years of age, and the first sexual intercourse should ideally result in pregnancy and successful delivery,” said professor and member of the russian academy of sciences igor kogan at the “Perinatal Medicine” conference organized by the government of the rf.

The pro-war propaganda among children in russian preschools is intensifying. Since the beginning of this year, kindergartens have been organizing military-patriotic games called “zarnitsy” on a massive scale. They are trying to instill in kids the willingness to “fight for the motherland” with grenade throwing, low crawling, and enduring camping conditions.

In St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan, for several months people have not been given vital medicines, which are financed from the budget. We are talking about citizens suffering from rare diseases such as acromegaly and pituitary adenomas, which, if left untreated, can lead to serious consequences for the body, disability included.

On February 13, the Volgograd regional duma increased fines for violating the decision of the operational headquarters introduced a week ago – to ban photo and video recording of consequences of drone attacks – from 3,000 rubles to 5,000 rubles for individuals, and from 50,000 rubles to 1 million rubles for legal entities.

After the drone attacks on Ryazan, an “air Cross procession” was held over the city. An airplane with clergymen took to the skies, carrying the icon of the Virgin Mary “The Sign” and relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. George the Victorious. During the flight, the ministers of the Theological Monastery and representatives of the “military clergy” of the diocese held a prayer service “About the protection of Ryazan from air attacks.”

In the documents of the government of the rf, the ministry of culture and the St. Petersburg committee for the protection of historical and cultural monuments, the site of Pushkin's last duel is listed as “the place where the poet A. Pushkin fought a duel with E. Dantes on January 27, 1837.” In other words, instead of Georges Dantes, the documents indicate Edmond Dantes, the hero of Alexandre Dumas’s novel “The Count of Monte Cristo”.

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, authorities have classified the number of the birds that died from among the waterfowl affected by fuel oil and sent for rehabilitation to the Taigan Park.

Miners in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region are not being paid their salaries and their job tenure is not being confirmed for 2016-2022. russian courts are ruling exclusively in favor of the occupying authorities, not the plaintiffs. They motivate this by the mass liquidation of the relevant legal entities that would have to repay the debt. As a result, miners lose six to seven years of job tenure, because the pension authorities of the rf cannot count these periods of work.

The government of the rb has committed “large-scale human rights violations against civilians as part of a brutal effort to suppress any opposition to lukashenko's rule.” Some of these violations equal the crimes against humanity, a group of independent UN experts on the human rights situation in Belarus has said.

At a meeting on the development of microelectronics, dictator lukashenko said that the main advanced technologies of the rb are “defense capability, sovereignty and independence of the state”. He also asked the general director of ojsc “integral” to explain to him the meaning of the term “microelectronics”.

The number of vacancies in minsk has jumped – more than 50,000 workers are needed. The minsk city executive committee has said that the “maz” plant alone needs 1,500 workers. They plan to fill the shortage of workers with school graduates.

prime minister of the rb golovchenko has said that over the past 10 years, belarusians have been consuming less potato, the country's traditional crop.

In January 2025, consumer prices in the rb increased by 0.7 %. Annual inflation in January was 5.2 %. In December, core inflation (excluding regulated and seasonal prices) was 0.6 %. In January, food prices increased by 1 %, non-food prices – by 0.5 %, and services – by 0.4 %.

In the rb, the rate for cars over three years of age imported by individuals has been raised to RUB 1,089. The price increase will affect vehicles manufactured in third countries and sold in the rb through official dealer networks of foreign manufacturers.

The majority of belarusians trust the law enforcement system and positively assess its work, said the deputy director for research at the institute of sociology of the national academy of sciences of belarus. It should be borne in mind that this institute is fully controlled by the authorities.