July 21, 2023 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The US Department of Defense has announced a new $1.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The package includes: four NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems) and munitions for them; 152 mm artillery rounds; mine clearing equipment; TOW anti-tank missiles; Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS); precision aerial munitions; anti- drone jamming and detection equipment, electronic warfare; 150 fuel trucks; 115 tactical vehicles to tow and haul equipment; 50 recovery tactical vehicles; port and harbor security equipment; tactical secure communications systems.

Head of Britain's Foreign Intelligence Service, MI6, Richard Moore, estimated that Ukraine recaptured more territory in a month than the russians managed to capture in a year. “Ukrainian commanders, unlike their russian counterparts, want to save the lives of their soldiers and are therefore advancing with due caution”, Moore said.

William LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment has said that Ukraine's Western allies are currently focused on repairing and servicing weapons.

Three tens of MPs of the European Parliament call for transfer of fourth-generation F-16 fighters to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Minister of Defence of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskas has said that the Demining Coalition will work in the territories and frontline zones liberated from the russian occupation forces in Ukraine.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has said russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and related challenges will be among the main topics of the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg. Ministers will also discuss sustained support for Ukraine in the long term. “We presented a plan to guarantee financial support to Ukraine in the coming years – we are talking about significant amounts of money – and I hope that Ministers will support it”, the EU's top diplomat said. At the same time, Borrell proposes to significantly expand the military training program for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

US National Security Council Spokesperson Adam Hodge has said russia has planted additional sea mines on approaches to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and can also attack civilian vessels. “We believe this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea and blame those attacks on Ukraine”, Hodge said.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly hopes that President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be able to convince russia to return to the Black Sea grain initiative.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock has said that her country is working with allies to intensify the export of Ukrainian grain by train.

The authorities of the Republic of South Africa have stated that if putin personally participates in the BRICS summit, they will fulfill South Africa's obligations under the Rome Statute; putin canceled the trip because of the danger of arrest upon arrival in the West.

Spokesperson for the US Department of State Matthew Miller has stressed that putin's decision not to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa in person shows that the international authority of the rf has deteriorated, and the leader of the kremlin himself has become an “international pariah”. At the same time, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the FRG Annalena Baerbock believes that putin's cancellation of his trip to South Africa proves that international law is effective.

rf

The European Union has extended sanctions against russia until January 31, 2024.

Australia has imposed sanctions on russia and belarus. The restrictions affected 35 organizations in the defense, technology and energy sectors of russia, including those involved in electronics and equipment for the russian armed forces, nuclear energy and extraction of Arctic resources, as well as 10 citizens of russia and belarus. Among others, the sanctions include russia’s commissioner for human rights tatyana moskalkova, first vice-speaker of the soviet of federation andrei turchak, first vice-prime minister andrey belousov, vice-prime minister chernishenko, ceo of the kalashnikov concern vladimir lepin, ceo of the holding company vertolyoty rossii (russian helicopters- Transl) nikolai kolesov. High-ranking belarusian military also fell under restrictions: the chief of staff – first deputy commander of the north-western operative command vadim shadura, commander of the 61st fighter air base in baranovichi yuri pyzhik, commander of military unit 65408 (luninets airfield) aleksandr lozitsky, commander of the 116th guards assault air base aleksandr krivets.

The United Kingdom on July 20 imposed sanctions against russians associated with the international terrorist organization “wagner”. Sanctions were imposed on ivan maslov, who commands the “wagnerites” in Mali; vitaly perfilyev, an adviser to the president of the Central African Republic and curator of mercenaries in that country. Sanctions have also been imposed on russians konstantin pikalov, andrei mandel, mikhail potepkin, aleksandr maloletko, aleksandr ivanov and belarusian dmitry sytyi. Besides, sanctioned were the companies M-Invest, LobayeInvestSARLU, MeroeGold, SewaSecurityServices, AlsolagMiningCoLtd.

The government of Argentine has banned the entry into the port of Bahia Blanca of the ship Flex Artemis with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from russia. State energy company Enarsa refused to accept cargo of russian LNG due to sanctions and made the tanker return to sea.

The Charge d'Affaires of Iceland has officially informed the rf about the closure of the embassy in moscow from August 1.

After the news of the closure of the russian consulate in Turku, Mayor Minna Arve decided that the city would no longer pay rent for a house on a nearby island, which for decades had been used free of charge by representatives of the russian consulate.

The special services of Kyrgyzstan have launched an investigation into the implementation in the country of international sanctions against russia, which, as noted, “is aimed at identifying and stopping such activities of private companies and firms involved in this, in order to take appropriate measures”. There was an attempt to deliver a cargo of Chinese drones from Kyrgyzstan to russia. The drones, estimated at 14 thousand dollars each, were declared as agricultural commodities.

In russia, the expropriation of business income over the past years continues: the state duma approved in the second, decisive, reading a draft law on a “one-time tax” for taxes already paid over the past years. Formally, the tax should be paid in 2024 at a base rate of 10% of the difference between the profits of companies in 2018-2019 and 2021-2022. But since the rf badly needs money, it is proposed to “pool money together” as soon as possible: companies are given the opportunity to pay tax from October 1 to November 30 of this year at a rate of 5%.

Wholesale prices for AI-95 and AI-92 petrol in russia continue to “break records”. In particular, the price of AI-92 in the European part of the rf exceeded the limit level, after which oil companies lose multibillion-dollar compensations from the russian authorities. The increase in wholesale prices affects the cost of fuel at filling stations: according to rosstat, in July, the increase in the cost of petrol by 3.6% has already exceeded inflation, which the russian authorities tried to prevent.

In the russian-occupied Sevastopol there is a significant shortage of petrol.

The russian pet products market is in crisis: from May 2022 to May 2023, feed sales fell by more than 9%, which is the worst indicator in recent years. In pet stores, savings are observed on the part of buyers and a reduction in the range due to difficulties in supplying high-quality imported goods.

During the first half of the year, developers' proposals for the sale of apartments in moscow decreased by 14%, of houses – by 24%.

The demand for developers of computer games in russia has decreased by 38%.

In russia, intimidation of the population is being intensified: the state duma has approved an amendment to the code on administrative violations: the fine for failure to turn up at the military commissariat will be 50 thousand rubles (it was from 500 to 3 thousand rubles), fines for legal entities “for not assisting mobilization” will be up to 500 thousand rubles. The minimum wage in the rf is 16 thousand rubles.

In russia, they decided to organize a charity concert, during which it is planned to raise funds for the purchase of body bags. They will be used for soldiers fighting against Ukraine. The charity concert will take place in blagoveshchensk, amur region. Rock bands, dance ensemble, athletes will perform; there will be even a puppet show.

The Department of Migration of Lithuania has reported that from February 24 last year to July 14 of this year, 2,905 residence permits and 160 permanent residence permits for citizens of belarus and russia were canceled in Lithuania. The main reasons are termination of an employment contract or failure to conclude a new one, and cases when a foreigner's residence in Lithuania poses a threat to state security or public order – as for 135 people who support russia's war against Ukraine.

On July 22, the law “on applying special restrictive measures” comes into force in belarus. It regulates using special restrictive measures due to unfriendly actions of foreign states – measures of an economic nature or others not related to the use of force or the threat of force.

In June 2023, sales of maz buses in russia decreased 5.7 times compared to June last year. Last month, only 33 new buses were sold, compared to 188 a year ago.