February 28, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The European Parliament, by majority, adopted a resolution to support changes to the EU's long-term budget, which in particular contain a provision for the formation of a special Ukrainian fund in the amount of EUR 50 billion for 2024-2027 for immediate budget support to Ukraine, its further recovery and modernization on the way to EU membership. The European Parliament also supported the creation of the Ukrainian Fund and its financing.

The government of Germany has provided Ukraine with the next tranche of military aid, which includes 14,000 of 155 mm rounds of ammunition from the Bundeswehr stores; 4 WISENT 1 mine clearing vehicles; 3 mine clearance systems; equipment for explosive ordnance disposal; 10 Vector reconnaissance UAVs with spare parts; 22 anti-drone systems; 12 SatCom terminals; 4 vehicles for border guards.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has announced creation of a “coalition” to provide Ukraine with “medium, long-range missiles and bombs”. Macron also has urged European nations not to wait for the results of the US presidential election, but right now to support Ukraine and security of their own countries.

Allies of Ukraine have agreed in Paris to strengthen efforts in five spheres: cyber defense, joint production of weapons in Ukraine, defence of countries that are directly threatened by russia’s aggression, the ability to support Ukraine by non-military forces, and mine clearing operations.

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Peter Fiala has stated that 15 EU countries are ready to join his country's initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine.

France has supported the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine in non -EU countries.

The Netherlands will allocate more than EUR 100 million to the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine.

Representatives of Ukraine and Norway began negotiations on the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement.

“Estonia’s long-term military support for Ukraine over the next four years will be 0.25 % of our GDP”, said Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas and called on other partners to take on a similar obligation.

Special Envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece to Ukraine Spyridon Lambridis has expressed confidence that the EU will agree to the scheme to use the profits from russian sovereign assets on its territory and will direct them to help Ukraine. The  Special Envoy of Greece estimates that the EU mechanism will provide 50 to 60 billion euros.

President of Poland Andrzej Duda hopes that in the near future, the joint forces of the Allies will be able to prepare a significant supply of ammunition to Ukraine.

At a meeting of the Visegrad Group with Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, Peter Fala, Viktor Orban and Robert Fitzo respectively, Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk said: “If one is a member of NATO and the European Union, then by definition, by the nature of that membership, one must support Ukraine in its defence against the russian invasion”.

Chairman of the Polish Sejm Commission on EU Affairs, Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Party “Poland 2050” Michał Kobosko believes that the rf is trying to use the contradictions that appear in relations between Ukraine and his country, but it is necessary to do everything possible not to spoil relations between Kyiv And Warsaw, as it would weaken everyone in the face of threat from the East.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh has said that the US Army will face several tough decisions regarding sources of funding for the Ukrainian military – it’s possible the money will have to come from other programs of funding American servicemen.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan believes that putin “wins every day” while the House of Representatives of the US Congress is adopting a new package of aid to Ukraine.

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President of France Emmanuel Macron has warned that the rf could attack NATO countries in the next few years.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen has said Europe must avoid the mistakes of the 1930s and boost and expand its defense industry to deter the rf.

Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonite has said that the victory of Ukraine is the last chance for the emergence of a different russia, free from dictatorship and imperialism.

US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo has said that his data indicate a decrease in the flow of funds between the rf and some countries after Washington issued a decree in December threatening with sanctions to financial institutions in third countries that help the rf circumvent Western sanctions.

The delegations of the USA, the EU and other countries at the WTO Ministerial Conference, which started on February 26 in Abu Dhabi, reject direct contacts with representatives of the rf, – deputy minister of economic development of the rf illichev complained.

Bulgaria is expelling the married couple of russians who created their biographies and documents of “citizens of Bulgaria” under fictional names for the purpose of further spy activity.

The head of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen has called  to withdraw  russian border guards from the Yerevan Airport “Zvartnots”. russian border guards “did not protect, but did their best to make the borders more vulnerable”, the Speaker of the Parliament said.

The Finnish manufacturer of spare parts for heavy trucks HD-Parts, which was sanctioned by the USA last week, has announced about its complete cessation of trade with russia.

Ministry of Agriculture of Lithuania increases the control over the import of grain from the rf, the br and temporarily occupied by the rf territories of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

Apps of the russian national system of payment cards (nspc) sbpey and privet have been removed from the AppStore. At the same time, the avtodor app designed to pay for driving on federal roads of the rf has disappeared from AppStore and Google Play. nspc belongs to the central bank of russia, on which on February 23, US sanctions were imposed.

Due to the fuel crisis, the rf's government banned petrol exports for six months from March 1.

The construction of the promised by russian authorities, eight-lane road near moscow, the so-called “double” of the shchelkovo motorway has been removed from the plan of road works of the rf because of the lack of “funding sources”.

The ministry of industry and trade of the rf suddenly reduced the programs of preferential leasing of motor vehicles to save the budget, excluding all cars and light commercial vehicles from them. Subsidizing cars in money has decreased tenfold, only passenger transport with nine seats (for example, “gazel” or “sollers” models), ordinary buses, electric cars and kamaz trucks remained a priority. Due to such a decision of the authorities, in dealer networks there remained more than a thousand vehicles, which customers refuse to buy out  in the absence of state support.

“gazprombank lizing” has presented a forecast for decommissioning of the russian railway fleet in the next 15 years: 44 % of gondola- wagons need to be decommissioned in 2030–2035, 21 % of petrol/oil tanks – in 2033–2035, 15 % of covered wagons – in 2024–2026, 19 % of mineral carriers – in 2030–2032, 40 % of cement carriers – in 2033–2035.

In 2023, the cost of the 22 built in russia sea and river vessels under the program “special shipbuilding” increased by 62 %; China remains almost the only supplier of equipment to the rf, and the rf wants to take loans from the PRC in yuans.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the net profit of the russian telecommunications company “rostelekom” decreased by 48.7 %, to 1.9 billion rubles compared to the same period of 2022. The total debt of the company as of December 31, 2023 (taking into account the rent) increased by 10 % by the beginning of the year – to 624.9 billion rubles. Net debt is 563.3 billion rubles, having increased by 12 % by the beginning of the year. On February 23, the United States imposed sanctions against “rostelekom”.

Specialized shops of home appliances and electronics of LG, Bosch and Sony are closing across russia because the supply of new goods has stopped. In moscow, three Sony retail points have reported that they will work until summer at the most – to sell the remains (Sony Centre branded stores were in every megacity in the rf, but all of them are closed because of international sanctions).

The rf can be left without lithium, which is needed for mechanical engineering, aviation optics, batteries: it is difficult to import metal because of international sanctions, and there has not been its own production in the rf for decades. Earlier, lithium was purchased in Latin America, but lately the suppliers have refused to cooperate with the rf because of the risk of getting under secondary sanctions. Purchases in China have some payment problems, they are also more expensive because of  attracting additional intermediaries, commissions, conversions, etc.

The russians are massively moving houses to flats to 25 square meters. In February, the demand for such flats increased by 33 % compared to last year. Within the year in kaliningrad the number of small-sized flats for the population increased sixfold, in Volgograd – fivefold, in omsk – four times, in moscow – by 18 %, in st. petersburg – by 11 %.

Despite the record issuance of mortgage loans, in 2023 the volume of net profit of the bank 'dom.rf” from retail business decreased by 16.2 %, to 367 million rubles.

The number of russians who want to have only one child increased from 17 % in 2017 to 23 % in 2022 (rosstat's latest data); there are by 0.4% more (2.4%) women who do not want to have children at all.

“The lukashenko regime’s constantly increasing and unprecedented level of repression, human rights abuses, restrictions on political participation and access to independent media, seriously undermined the legitimacy of the election process. In this context, it is obvious that the conditions for free and fair elections were not observed, and new parliamentary and local authorities do not have sufficient democratic legitimacy, ”said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel after the parliamentary elections in the rb.

The OSCE has emphasized that the elections in the rb “have passed in an atmosphere of fear, in which no electoral process can be called democratic”. “We urge the lukashenko regime to stop repression, release all political prisoners and start a dialogue with its political opponents. The belarusian people deserve better”, the OSCE said.

UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe Leo Docherty also expressed condemnation: “On the eve of the elections, there was a flashy intimidation and another wave of repression and arrests. It is a shocking fact that the persecution was suffered by families of political prisoners who have already experienced the trauma when  their loved ones were detained for exercising the right to basic freedoms. The regime suppressed true opposition parties and refused to invite the OSCE independent observers to the polls”.

President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Michał Szczerba has stressed that lukashenko's regime is trying to suppress the desire and the right of the belarusian people to express their will through free and honest elections.

This year, the Department of Migration of Lithuania intends to check over 18,000 belarusians who had settled in the country before restrictions and inspections were introduced in 2022. According to Head of the Department of Migration Evelina Gudzinskaitė, in case of negative information about a person, the Department of Migration will address the Department of State Security (DBB).. Further actions will depend on the findings of the DBB as to whether a person is a “threat to Lithuania's national security” – if the person is, he/she may be deprived of residence permit. The refusal to fill the questionnaire will be not in favor of the applicant.

The Border Guard Service of Poland will build a barrier on rivers on border with the rb within 10-12 months. More than 364 million zlotys (almost $ 92 million), including EU funds, have been allocated to the project. The length of the electronic barrier on the Bug River is about 172 km, on the rivers Swyslocz and Istoczanka – about 47 kilometers. About 1,800 video cameras, 4,500 day-and-night thermal imaging cameras, as well as special sensors will ensure the identification of different physical characteristics of objects. The electronic fence will be integrated into the existing border infrastructure.

Since 2024, taxpayers of the rb have introduced several changes at once concerning inspections of income and population expenditures. Officials raised the ceiling, in case of exceeding it, they demand a report about the source of the “extra” funds. They have also revised the ways in which authorities may demand from belarusians explanation where they took the money to buy the flat, that is, ask about the source of income. The tax authorities also introduced changes for such inspections for those who build real estate (without the involvement of the builder or contractor). Until recently, there was a condition – property should be at least 70 % of the value that tax service defines for calculating real estate tax on January 1. From this year, this minimum has been raised to 100 %.

In three years, in the rb, most of all grew the prices for tomatoes (almost by 122 %), bananas and marshmallows (+71 %), garlic (+63 %), citrus (+62 %), rice (+54 %), capsicum (+51). %)), chocolate (+50 %), live fish (+48 %), bread (+43 %), cucumbers (+42 %), beef (+41 %), pork (+40 %), chicken m '' ' Yasa (+41) %), vodka (+36 %), black tea (+35 %), etc. The prices for frozen fish and cognac (+20 %) have risen less.

According to belstat, as of January 2024, the number of the employed in the country was 4 million 129 thousand people. Compared to December, this figure decreased by 11.1 thousand. The employment rate keeps decreasing: in 2022 there were 4.214 million the employed, in 2021 – 4.284 million, in 2020 – 4.319 million, in 2019 – 4.334 million, in 2018 – 4.337 million. And 10 years ago, in 2013, the average annual number of employees was 4.578 million – that is, almost by 450 thousand more than it is now.