February 20, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Lithuania has announced that Ukraine has received a military assistance package worth $ 80 million, which included a new batch of trucks, thermal imaging sights and other equipment.

Almost EUR 2 million for drones for Ukraine have been fundraised in Lithuania within the framework of Radarom! solidarity action.

Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Siliņa believes that it is high time to prepare the European proposal scenarios for the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.

The EU considers the possibility of providing a package of military assistance to Ukraine worth at least EUR 6 billion.

“In the ongoing process (of negotiations), Ukraine’s territorial integrity is particularly important to us. Its sovereignty is also indispensable for us,” said President of Türkiye Recep Taip Erdogan.

National Security Advisor to US President Donald Trump Mike Volz insists that the USA consults with Ukraine and European allies “literally on a daily basis”.

“Let's not get into their (russian) traps. Working with the United States, we will be able to reach a fair and strong peace – on Ukraine’s terms, ” – in her conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief Diplomat of the EU Kaja Kallas stressed that the rf is trying to divide Europe and the United States.

The leaders of the European Parliament groups have called on Europe to double the efforts to strengthen own security and to support our country and opposed the exclusion of the EU and Ukraine from negotiations process to end the war.

The House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Netherlands spoke for the Government’s “constructive position” on peacekeepers in Ukraine.

“We want to be part of these conversations about security guarantees. We want to be part of talks related to the involvement of more Canadians in Ukraine's defense,” – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Mélanie Joly has said her country is interested in helping to support Ukraine's security after the possible end of the war with russia. According to her, the war in Ukraine cannot end on conditions that would allow russia to keep destabilizing Europe.

Since the beginning of the 2024/25 marketing year, Ukraine has exported 27.99 million tons of grain and legumes. Last year as of the same period, the total shipment rate was 27.06 million tons.

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The European Union Member States have agreed a new – 16th package of sanctions against russia over its invasion of Ukraine. New restrictions in particular will be directed against exports of russian aluminum and oil. The package introduces a “step–by–step” ban on the import of russian aluminum products and increases the restriction on the sale of crude oil. 73 tankers of the shadow fleet of the rf, 13 russian banks and dozens of persons and companies that contribute to the russian invasion of Ukraine will fall under sanctions. The restriction will also be put on the sale of game consoles, joysticks and flight simulators. Besides, new sanctions provide for a ban on exports of chromium, a number of chemical products, provision of services to oil and gas processing and broadcasting of eight russian media in Europe.

“The EU is clamping down even harder on circumvention by targeting more vessels in putin’s shadow fleet and imposing new import and export bans. We are committed to keep up the pressure on the kremlin,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von Der Leyen.

European Union's Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas believes that sanctions are a trump card against russia, and therefore the EU should not give them up: “Why do the russians want the lifting of sanctions? Because they hurt them and they want to go back to business as usual. This is the strong card that we have in our hands and we shouldn't give it away.”

The European Commissioner for Economics Valdis Dombrovskis has stated that the European Union should take the issue of sanctions in its own hands. He has pointed out that the EU will be focusing more on its own European security capabilities and will also make its own decisions on the extension of sanctions against russia.

The countries of the G7 are considering the possibility of additional strengthening of sanctions on russian oil. By the third anniversary of russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the states of the “Seven” can reduce the “price ceiling” for oil from the rf, which is now installed at the mark of $ 60 per barrel. The aim of additional restrictions is to reduce the kremlin's access to oil dollars and to encourage russia to negotiate a just peace with Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the US authorities will not consider the removal of sanctions imposed on russia until a peace agreement with Ukraine is concluded.

The large Turkish oil holding Tupras has stopped buying russian oil because of US sanctions. In 2024, Tupras imported 225 thousand barrels of russian oil daily.

According to head of the russian union of industrialists and entrepreneurs aleksandr shokhin, the sanction pressure on russian business in 2025 most likely will not weaken, since the EU will keep strengthening sanctions.

Similar to the European Golden Visa program, which was launched in russia in 2023, expecting to attract hundreds of rich investors from abroad, ended in failure. For two years of the program, only 40 people have applied for a residence permit in exchange for investments. At this, the number of applications falls: in 2023 there were 24, in 2024 – 14, and in January – February 2025 – only two.

In 2024, the russians paid by 25 % more services in private clinics than a year ago, while the average check increased by 19 %. Rising in clinics can affect pricing of companies that provide voluntary health insurance services. In this case, the insurers are forced to shift additional costs to citizens or their employers or to cancel contracts with medical institutions.

The volume of investments in russia's commercial real estate in 2025 can be reduced almost twice and amount to 550-600 billion rubles. Investors have reduced activity against the background of rigid monetary policy and high rates on loans.

Bankruptcy of developers in the regions of russia will continue. The sharp rise in price of loans at which residential complexes are being built, puts small regional developers in the most vulnerable position. These structures do not have resources such as federal companies, their liquidity reserves are extremely limited, and therefore any demand inhibition will be critical for them.

Two passenger planes of russian airlines had breakage in the air at once. In both aircrafts, the elements of the control system of the wing mechanization failed. Since the beginning of the year, at least eleven such incidents have been recorded with planes of russian air carriers.

Investigators and interrogators in the rf will be allowed to block the monetary operations of russians on bank cards.

Cyber fraudsters have stolen 200 billion rubles from the russians.

The “russian railways” will reduce by 27 % the purchases of new wagons for long–distance trains.

Producers of flour in the rf do not rule out mass bankruptcy of the enterprises of the industry and decrease in flour exports this year.

Every fifth russians (19 %) refused to consider participants of the war against Ukraine heroes along with the fighters of the “great patriotic war” – follows from a survey of the All -russian public opinion research centre.

The percentage of russians who have a “safety bag” – savings for a rainy day – in February decreased sharply – to 33 % from 40 % in January. The share of those who do not have savings has increased even more: by 5 %, from 56 % in January to 64 %.

The state duma of the rf in the second and third readings in one go adopted a draft law, which increases the responsibility for the deliberate destruction or damage of the property. One can now get up to five years of forced work or be imprisoned for the same time for such actions. The explanatory note tells about the increase in the number of cases of damage and destruction of property of citizens and organizations that posted “visual information” in support of hostilities in Ukraine. Members of the state duma also refer to the ministry of internal affairs’ data, which capture the rise in crimes for political reasons. In particular, “the arson of buildings of military commissariats and other state bodies”.

In moscow, during recruiting volunteers, foreigners are now denied a contract with the ministry of defence without knowledge of russian. In russian regions, they have actually stopped recruiting foreigners who do not know the russian language.

In russia, against the background of record budget expenditures for the war in Ukraine, problems with providing people with preferential medicines are increasing. Already in almost a fifth of the russian regions, interruptions with expensive vital medicines for the treatment of rare and serious diseases have been recorded. People are denied of medicines funded from the budget are recorded in Kaluga, Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Republics of Bashkortostan, Altai and Mordovia, in the Primorsky, Krasnodar and Transbaikal Territories and even in moscow and Moscow region.

The Veliky Ustyug District Court of Vologda region has nationalized the russian assets of the largest Ukrainian alcohol company Bayadera Group. The accusation of its owners – businessmen Natalia Bondareva and Svyatoslav Nechytailo of financing the Ukrainian Army was the reason for the nationalization of the producers of “Vozdukh” and “Perepelka” vodkas. The court recognized the entrepreneurs themselves as extremists.

In the controlled by the rf Kerch State Maritime Technical University, russian authorities have introduced a new procedure for paying scholarships. Students will receive financial support only in case of so–called military registration.

In a village in Sakhalin, there is one resident after her neighbour’s death from dog bites.

President of IBU Olle Dahlin has answered the question about the admission of belarusian and russian biathlonists to international competitions. Dahlin pointed out that this is out of the question. belarusian and russian biathlonists were banned from participating in all international IBU competitions after the start of the full–scale war.

Lithuania has suspended the transit of rapeseed oil of the belarusian company “agroprodukt” after the investigation was published that it gets raw materials from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

russia, China and the United Arab Emirates accounted for about 75 % of the external turnover of the rb in 2024.

ministry of antimonopoly regulation and trade of the rb has put forward a demand to the wildberries marketplace to stop the sale of prohibited goods (perfume, cosmetics, etc.), “made in countries that have imposed sanctions and pursuing unfriendly policy toward Belarus.” Also, at the request of the prosecutor's office of gomel district of the rb, the marketplace withdrew goods from the catalog recognized by the authorities as “extremist materials”. Now they do not sell there books “Twenty Years of Slavery: Belarus Today”, by Sergei Syuzev, “Unknown War”, by Otto Scorzeni and key chains with “The Black Sun”.

24.7 % of belarusians who took part in the quarterly survey of the BEROC research center reported a decrease in their income. The vast majority of respondents (52 %) cited rising prices as the reason for the fall in income.

In the rb for four years significantly increased the prices of garlic and green onions. While in December 2020 a kilogram of green onions cost 15.60 rubles, in December 2024 it cost 27.14 rubles. A kilogram of garlic in December 2020 cost 7.39 rubles, while in December 2024 its price was 17.22 rubles. Prices increased noticeably for tomatoes (from 4.94 rubles to 13.01 rubles), leaf salad (from 7.98 rubles. to 27.67 rubles), strawberries (from 23.56 to 76.95), peaches and nectarines (from 8.57 rubles. to 54.11). Red fish and caviar also increased in price. While in December 2020, salty and spicy salmon cost 29.68 rubles a kilogram, in December 2024 it cost 45.06 rubles a kilo. The cost of salmon caviar increased from 121.98 rubles to 263.42 rubles. On average, for four years, different types of sweets rose in price by 10 rubles for a kilogram. All sorts of wine increased in price by an average of 10 rubles, and imported cognac rose from 56.04 rubles to 70.31 rubles.

Pro-government singer ivan zdaniuk, who “thoroughly” worked on the “marathons of unity”, made an agreement with the management of the coffee shop “Varka” in minsk, that in their toilet only “the right music” will be plaid – his new track “feelings”.