February 22, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

President of France Emmanuel Macron has emphasized that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy “was elected in free elections, which cannot be said about putin, who has been killing off his opponents and manipulating his elections for years.”

“...Our task is to stand with the Ukrainians, support the Ukrainians, support them in their fight. And if they choose to talk, support them in the negotiations as well,” said UK Defense Secretary John Healey.

“Enough talking, it’s time to act! 1. Let’s finance our aid for Ukraine from the russian frozen assets. 2. Let’s strengthen air policing, the Baltic Sentry and the EU borders with russia. 3. Let’s swiftly adopt new fiscal rules to finance the EU security and defence. Now!” – Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk has proposed three steps to strengthen support for Ukraine and strengthen Europe's security.

“For Austria, it is clear that this should not be a peace imposed on Ukraine. It should be a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace based on international law,” the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Austria is also ready to host and mediate peace talks to end russia's war against Ukraine, if necessary.

About 53% of Danish citizens are in favor of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine after the war ends.

In 2024, the World Bank provided Ukraine with $31.8 billion in support.

The International Organization for Migration has called on the international community to find a way to allocate $255 million this year to support two million people affected by the war in Ukraine.

According to a UNICEF survey, every fifth child in Ukraine (21%) has lost a close relative or friend since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion.

rf

The European Union is seeking to import more gas, particularly from the United States, to replace russian supplies and intends to expand the use of renewable energy sources faster to reduce dependence on energy imports, – said EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen.

“We (the EU) have completely cut off imports of russian coal, most of the imports of russian oil and more than two-thirds of russian gas imports as part of the Repower EU plan,” said Spokesperson for the European Commission Anna-Kaisa Ikonen.

“It is absolutely clear who the aggressor is in this situation. It was russia that started the war. This is a continuation of what we have seen before in Georgia, in Syria, in Ukraine. So russia is the culprit here,” said Annita Hipper, the European Commission's Spokesperson for Foreign Policy.

European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas believes that the rf has not abandoned its territorial goals in Ukraine.

Ministers of Defence of the UK and Norway have negotiated a defense agreement aimed at countering the threat posed by russia in the Arctic. The new agreement provides for increased cooperation between the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and Norway, including the protection of submarine cables from sabotage.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that he does not see russia's desire for peace with Ukraine.

Ryanair airline began massively denying boarding to russian citizens flying to Tallinn.

Major producers of bread and bakery products in the rf have informed retailers of a 10-12% increase in selling prices starting March 1. Among the reasons for the rise in bakery products prices, the producers mentioned the increase in the cost of warehouse and transportation logistics, the increase in the tax burden, higher prices for raw materials, etc.

russians may be left without a large number of foreign goods on domestic marketplaces if the authorities oblige sellers to authenticate themselves through “public services”. The adoption of this rule will lead to a sharp reduction in the supply of foreign goods on russian sites and will create preferences for foreign marketplaces.

The cost of a taxi ride in russia may rise by 15-20% next year.

russia may experience a surge in crime after the end of the war against Ukraine, which has been going on for three years, said former minister of internal affairs of the rf, army general anatoly kulikov. He reminded that in addition to the mobilized and contract soldiers, those who were sent there from prison will also return from the war zone.

Today, the shortage of highly qualified personnel in russia is 1.5 million people.

russian authorities have launched a new wave of “optimization” in healthcare amid cuts in medical expenditures in the budget, where every third ruble goes to the army and the war. At the end of 2024, at least 160 state hospitals, clinics, health centers, dispensaries, maternity hospitals and other medical institutions were closed in different regions of the rf. The rate of hospital closures has increased more than 5 times compared to previous years: from 2021 to October 2023, 88 hospitals were closed in russia, an average of about 30 per year.

In russia, against the background of the war with Ukraine, a form of punishment for activists and opposition-minded citizens popular in the ussr – compulsory psychiatric care – has become widespread. Currently, at least 48 defendants in politically motivated cases are subjected to punitive medical procedures. 46 of the convicts are in psychiatric hospitals, and two more are undergoing outpatient treatment while serving their sentences in prison.

The rf’s government has promised to allocate about 40 billion rubles to compensate residents of the border areas of Kursk region who fled the fighting. This figure is 6.5 times less than the amount allocated in the federal budget for one week of war in Ukraine.

russians who left russia after the mobilization was announced on September 21, 2022, should be completely banned from participating in elections, including voting, said deputy speaker of the Magadan regional duma, member of the “united russia” party eduard kozlov. “If a person left his homeland at a time when it needed him to defend it, he is a coward and a traitor, and upon returning, he should be deprived of many things, such as the right to vote,” he said. According to the mp, those who “fled” russia at such a time “abandoned it to its fate, gave it into the clutches of the enemy.”

Up to 10 million birds, including a large number of endangered and rare species, are at risk of death or poisoning due to fuel oil pollution on the Black Sea coast after two oil tankers spilled fuel in the Kerch Strait.

putin says “oreshnik”’s warheads can withstand the temperature of the Sun.

In Irkutsk region, which currently has the lowest electricity tariff for households in the rf – three times lower than the average for Siberian regions – the critical deterioration of the power grid, lack of gasification and low energy efficiency of the housing stock are leading the region to an energy crisis. If the situation develops unfavorably during the winter peak load, a full long-term (more than 24 hours) power outage due to a shortage of electric power could affect up to 250,000  people, and rolling blackouts could affect more than 450,000 people.

russian clergymen have reported that they had baptized more than 42,000 soldiers in the so-called “special military operation” zone. In the words of metropolitan of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk kirill, “so that they could go into battle without fear.”

Representatives of a russian export center have erased the crosses of St. Basil's Church from the posters of an exhibition in the United Arab Emirates. Member of the moscow city duma medvedev commented on the event as follows: “all that remains is to repaint the domes of the temple in rainbow colors. To respect someone else’s orientation as well.”

NATO countries, in particular Poland, have no “aggressive plans” towards belarus and russia, but will defend their borders, said Minister of National Defense of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

The Latvian New Unity party has submitted a draft law to the Seimas providing for a ban on passenger transportation to russia and belarus.

The Committee on International Affairs of the Czech Parliament has declared its non-recognition of the elections in the rb and support for the Belarusian democratic forces. This is stated in the published resolution “On the Non-Recognition of the Results of the So-Called Presidential Election Held in the Republic of Belarus on January 26, 2025.”

The Belarusian state university sends monthly reports to the prosecutor's office and the chairman of the council of the republic n. kochanova on fighting “extremism” in the institution.

The supreme court of the rb has published statistics on criminal cases heard by courts of general jurisdiction in 2024, but hid the data on “political” sentences. According to the published statistics, last year, courts of general jurisdiction passed sentences in 29,162 criminal cases. They convicted 31,410 people.

In 2024, 29 minors were convicted under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order or active participation in them). In 2023, there were 23 such minors. This article is used mainly for the political persecution of protesters in 2020.

In 2023 and 2024, more than 50 legal acts were amended in belarus to legalize repression, either directly violating human rights or creating conditions for their violation. The legalization of repression in 2023 and 2024 covered almost all spheres of society. The key trend in state policy at the end of 2024 was that the state began to make changes to previously amended regulations in a second round. While 2023 saw the biggest jump in the legalization of repression, in 2024 the emphasis shifted to expanding the range of illegal methods and strengthening the pyramid of repressive legislation.

In the rb, about seven thousand information materials were declared “extremist” and access to them was denied. At this, in 2024 alone, about three thousand materials were recognized as extremist. Besides, access to 15,150 Internet resources that contradict the interests of the state has been restricted. And this number is constantly increasing. In January alone, access to almost 2,200 such resources was restricted.

In 2024, the share of acquittals in criminal trials in belarus increased from 0.14% to 0.19%.

On the occasion of the International Mother Language Day, Vitebsk university presented a vocal performance of “Kalinka” in russian.

The militia has banned one of the belarusian producers from writing the letters SS on the packaging of the cheese “DeSSert Cherry Brownies”.

Utility bills in belarus are growing at a rate far exceeding inflation: in 2025, payments for a typical two-bedroom flat with three residents will increase by about 14% (21 rubles), with an expected inflation rate of 5%.

belarusian citizens of working age who are recognized as unemployed in the economy will have to pay for housing and communal services at cost. In absolute terms, the fee will increase by much more than 21 rubles.