February 25, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has informed that in March Ukraine will receive a new EUR 3.5 billion tranche from the EU. She has also announced a plan for increasing European production of weapons that is beneficial for Ukraine.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has announced a new package of aid which will include 25 LAV III infantry fighting vehicles, four F-16 simulators as well as fighter landing system, “millions of additional components of ammunition, gear and first aid kits”. According to Trudeau, Canada will separately hand over the first tranche of $5 billion in aid to Ukraine, funded by the proceeds of frozen russian assets, along with a grant to support Ukraine’s energy security.

The Government of Sweden has announced the purchase and transfer to Ukraine of the Robot 70 and Tridon MK2 air defense systems worth 1.2 billion crowns (almost $ 113 million).

Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez has announced a new EUR 1 billion military aid package to Ukraine for 2025. “We must ensure that Ukraine joins the European Union as soon as possible,” he added.

The Government of Denmark has announced allocation to Ukraine of 2 billion Danish kroner (about EUR 268 million). “I am proud that Denmark, together with the Nordic and Baltic countries, is at the forefront of supporting Ukraine. Now, we must hold on. Deliver more weapons. Faster. Donate to the Ukrainian defence industry, because we are at a crucial moment. What we do now will be decisive for future generations in Ukraine and Europe,” said Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen.

Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre has announced that in 2025 his country will allocate EUR 1 billion in humanitarian and civil assistance to Ukraine. The aid will be distributed in the following areas: energy security and supply, including nuclear safety and gas procurement; humanitarian aid; operational support and rehabilitation; business and private sector development; and civil society.

The European Commission has proposed a new support for Ukraine to ensure the safety of the Ukrainian energy system and full integration into the European energy market. This package will fully connect the electricity market of Ukraine with the EU by early 2027 together with Moldova, as well as further integration into the EU’s gas sector, provided that our country significantly speeds up the necessary market reforms.

The countries of Northern Europe and the Baltic States within the framework of military support for Ukraine in 2025 will ensure the preparation and equipment of the Ukrainian unit with the force of a brigade.

President of the European Council António Costa has announced an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on March 6, which will be dedicated to long-term security in Ukraine and Europe.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda has proposed to fix January 1, 2030 as the date of Ukraine's accession to the EU.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has said that “European colleagues and allies” are committed to ensuring “peace returns to Ukraine in a just, solid, and lasting manner”.

“First of all, before discussing post-war plans, we must do our best to help Ukraine reach peace from the position of strength. The strength on the battlefield transforms into strength at the negotiating table. The feeling of urgency should be clear to everyone,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen, together with top diplomats of the Baltic States and Northern Europe, together.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belium Maxime Prévot​​ believes that “without Ukraine and without European authorities it is unacceptable to make decisions on establishing peace.”

“Now, more than ever, we must put Ukraine in a strong position. To achieve a just peace, the country under attack must be part of the peace negotiations,” said election winner in Germany, leader of the CDU/CSU Bloc Friedrich Merz.

Finland supports the second phase (2025–2027) of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) with a contribution of EUR 4.5 million. “The PFRU strengthens the resilience of regions and communities by supporting early recovery and responding to acute needs for basic public services and emergency assistance. Support is also targeted at measures to sustain long-term peace and promote national identity and unit”, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

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“russia and its leadership bear sole responsibility for this war and the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian population. We continue to call for accountability for all war crimes and crimes against humanity committed. We welcome the recent steps made towards the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,” reads a joint statement by the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament to the third anniversary of russia's invasion of Ukraine.

“The measures announced today slam the door shut to the oligarchs who have enriched themselves at the expense of the russian people whilst bankrolling this illegal and unjustifiable war,” – the Minister of State for Security of the United Kingdom Dan Jarvis commented on new anti-russian sanctions. He also added that his message to putin's friends in moscow is very simple: “You are not welcome in the UK.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has stated that his country would like new EU sanctions against russia to be more severe. “We wanted the content, terms and volume of sanctions to be more ambitious,” said Budrys. According to him, a new package of sanctions against russia is already being prepared.

The European Union has banned 13 russian banks from using the international SWIFT system. The list includes: “uralsib”, “tochka”, “ak bars”, roseksimbank, “sinara”, primsotsbank, bbr, “rnko platezhnyi konstruktor”, “peterburgskiy raschetnyi tsentr”, kuznetskbiznesbank, mb-bank and “kuban-kredit”.

The EU’s 16th package of anti-russian sanctions, includes restrictions against 48 individuals, including russian actor and humorist mikhail galustyan, TV presenter yulia baranovskaya, senator from Crimea and chess player sergey karyakin, chairman of the board of directors of “mechel” igor zyuzin, director general of “inter rao” sergey dregval, owner of “sistema” vladimir yevtushenko.

Among the sanctioned individuals there are: senator from Astrakhan region andrey derkach; director for special assignments of “rostekh”, husband of TV presenter kandelaki vasiliy brovko; blogger and media manager kristina Potupchik; shareholder of the ural mining and metallurgical company igor kudryashkin; head of the “leninets” holding anatoliy turchak; director general of the “almaz-antey” concern yan novikov; head of oak vadim badekha; businessman albert avdolyan; Olympic Champion nikita nagornyi.

The russian academy of national economy and civil service under the president of the rf for the implementation of the program “time of heroes” for participants of the war against Ukraine also came under sanctions. Among the sanctioned legal entities there is also the black sea bank for development and reconstruction, as well as the garantex cryptocurrency exchange.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic has stated that putin has never been elected in a free election, and therefore he spreads a lie about the “illegitimacy” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Caspar Veldkamp has pointed out that after russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation with security in Europe has changed dramatically. According to him, in 2024, the rf was probably involved in at least 37 attempts of sabotage, vandalism, external intervention and even murders in Western Europe.

Finland does not plan to restore the operation of checkpoints on the border with russia, said Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen. According to him, the reason for this decision is the rf’s using the migration flow as a pressure tool.

The representation of the propaganda media group “russia today” has been eliminated in Azerbaijan.

US oil producers are unlikely to return to russia after the war in Ukraine because of losses, said founder of Continental Resources Harold Hamm. “Many people have lost a lot of money there. I think they won't want to go back there. From time to time there is peace, but not very often, ”said a shale magnate.

The International Human Rights Organization “Reporters Without Borders” has filed a complaint against russia with the International Criminal Court for the deportation of 19 Ukrainian journalists. As noted in the message on the website of the Organization, russia has deported at least 19 Ukrainian journalists into its territory or other occupied areas of Ukraine. It is emphasized that all these people were “arbitrarily arrested by russian occupation troops”.

In russia, the exchange mechanism of the exchange rate has actually been destroyed, –said minister of economy maksim reshetnikov said. According to him, because of this the market has become much more volatile. “We now have a much more volatile market since last year, after the exchange mechanism has been destroyed. We are now working because of the non- exchange registration of contracts,” the official said.

On Monday, the russian aluminum giant rusal postponed indefinitely the placement of RMB and ruble bonds. The decision was made after the European Union has published the 16th package of sanctions against the rf, banning the import of primary aluminum. New EU restrictions directly affect the exports of primary aluminum, which in 2023 provided for 22 % of rusal's revenue. Obviously, despite all the efforts to reduce rusal’s dependence on supplies to the EU, the 16th package will hit the company's finances.

From February 2024 to February 2025, imported wines on the shelves of russian shops went up by an average of 40 %. Due to increased duties (to 25 %), excise duties growth from 108 to 113 rubles for 1 liter and problems with cross-border payments, there are practically no wines from “'unfriendly” countries cheaper than 1,000 rubles a bottle. In 2024, the import of wine from the European Union decreased by one third – to 160.6 thousand tons, or EUR 532 million.

Prices for salmon fish breeds in russia may increase dramatically, while the volume of their production is markedly reduced due to the proposed by the russian government draft law, which requires billions of rubles of investments from companies, which they can’t afford. Authorities want to oblige fishing companies by December 30, 2025 to renew with rosrybolovstvo – the author of the initiative – contracts for the use of fishing areas. Otherwise, the areas that most companies have developed for many years will be auctioned and fishermen may lose them. Prices in case of adoption of the new law will increase for the most affordable for the russians gorbusha (hamp salmon), as well as to the red salmon, silver salmon, Atlantic salmon, black salmon, dog salmon, etc.

The number of taxi drivers in the rf can be reduced by half a million, if the state duma adopts a draft law that obliges taxi drivers to use exclusively russian cars.

Over the three years since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 20 081 russians have been detained for participation in anti-war actions and meetings. At the same time, most detentions, namely 18 910, occurred in 2022. In 2023, 274 people were detained, and in 2024 – 41.

The war against Ukraine has worsened life of 54 % of russians, as shown by the survey. Only 9 % of citizens declared the positive influence of the so-called “special military operation” on their daily life, 32 % did not notice any changes. Among other things, 36 % of respondents complained of deterioration in their financial situation. Compared to September last year, the share of such russians increased by 9 %. Also, 40 % of respondents said they began to work more than before the war, and only 6 % felt a decrease in load. Over the past two years, the number of consistent supporters of the war has decreased from 23 % to 18 %.

During the three years of a full-scale war in Ukraine, russian servicemen who participated in the invasion and returned home, killed and crippled more than 750 citizens. At least 378 people were killed, and in 376 cases, people were seriously injured. Courts see the participation in the war as a mitigating circumstance, and awards received there – as a sign of good reputation.

The state duma’s committee on state building and law has recommended to adopt in the first reading a draft law on raising fines for foreign agents to 500 thousand rubles for non -compliance with the ministry of justice's requirements. The committee has also advised to adopt in the first reading a draft law on criminal liability and imprisonment for failure to report the preparation of sabotage.

deputy chairman of the commission for the investigation of the facts of foreign states’ interfering with the internal affairs of russia, andrey alshevskikh has sent to the prosecutor general's office “examples of crimes committed by BBC” so that the British language corporation be recognized an undesirable organization in the rf.

Inhabitants of Western countries where “russophobia flourishes”, allegedly, began to move to russia with their families after the issuance of putin's decree on permission to temporarily reside for foreigners-supporters of “traditional values” in the rf. This was stated by member of the state duma maria butina, who had previously called for blocking youtube and imprisoning parents whose children use VPN.

putin has said that russian military servicemen’s actions in Ukraine are “acceptable” before God.

The supreme mufti of russia talgat tadzhuddin has told putin that muslims perceive the so-called “special military operation” as a military operation to restore the divine system in the world.

The weighted average price for 1 square metre in the primary real estate market of Dagestan has reached 122.8 thousand rubles, having increased by almost 47 % within a year. It is one of the highest rates of prices among russia's regional markets.

Tiva is the leader of the rating of the debt overburden of the regions of the rf: each of its inhabitants ows 1 million. In total, a russian’s debt to the bank is 460 000 rubles.

The EU included into the 16th sanctions package against russia the “integral” state enterprise. As stated in the published document, the products of OJSC “integral” are purchased by “russian organizations involved in russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and its products were found on the battlefield”. It is noted that russian orders “make up most of exports” of OJSC “integral”. “Semiconductors are vital to russia's military efforts, and russia has already invested $350 million in “integral”. Therefore, “integral” supports actions that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, and also supports the government of the rf and benefits from it,” reads the document.

The European sanctions has also been imposed on: “belomo”, niievm, minsk research instrument-making institute, orsha aircraft repair plant, OJSC “2566 radioelectronic reapons repair plant”, “peleng” and design engineering bureau “display”; first deputy head of the state committee for military industry oleg mishchenko, chief of the general staff of the armed forces pavel muraveyko, deputy minister of defense andrey fedin, ceo of “belomo” aleksandr moroz and head of the belarusian republican union of youth aleksandr lukyanov.

In January, new loans (except for the preferential ones) were issued to belarusians on average at 10.51 %, a year ago it was at 9.85 %. For companies, loans have risen in price more significantly: from 9.72% in January last year to 12.01% in the current one. At this, loan rates for legal entities have been growing for eight months in a row.

As of February 24, 2025, at least 41 people were convicted of donations to belarusian volunteers fighting against the russian aggressor. At least 30 people have been convicted for the intention to fight on the side of Ukraine. At least 93 people have been convicted for the transfer of photos and videos of russian military equipment to the media.

Vicar of the Catholic parish of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Lida (Grodno region) Dmitry Malets has been detained for subscribing to resources that the authorities considered "extremist" ones. The priest will be tried for allegedly distributing, manufacturing, storing, transporting information products containing calls for extremist activities or promoting such activities.

Against the background of the closure of hospitals and shortage of doctors, the demolition of the five-story building of the infectious diseases hospital in Gomel, which the authorities could not complete, was estimated at 3,123,005 rubles (about $900,000). Moreover, the dismantling of the building was included in the project to create an open parking lot for 20 places there, the cost of one parking space will be really “golden” – about $45,000.