July 5, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The US Department of Defense has announced the purchase of missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems for Ukraine worth $2.2 billion.

The United States has officially announced a new $150 million military aid package for Ukraine, which includes missiles for HAWK air defense systems, ammunition for HIMARS systems, 155-mm and 105-mm artillery shells, 81-mm mortar shells, TOW missiles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems, small arms ammunition and grenades, demolition equipment, tactical vehicles, tactical air navigation systems and aviation support equipment, spare parts, maintenance and other support equipment.

France has donated 41 power generators to the communities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock has called for continued support for Ukraine, as russia will remain the greatest threat to European freedom and security in the near future.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Douglas Jones has said that during the NATO summit in Washington, Ukraine will be offered “concrete ways” to accelerate its future membership in the Alliance.

“Next week at the NATO summit in Washington, we will announce more ways in which the United States and NATO will support Ukraine's defense including our supplies to Ukraine”, said US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

“In my opinion, a ceasefire that aims at Ukraine's surrender should never be supported by Germany”, Chancellor of the FRG Olaf Scholz emphasized.

“...We should not tell Ukraine what to do until the Ukrainians return all the occupied territories. Because what the russians are doing in the occupied territories, we would not tolerate in our countries”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski.

“russia has not achieved any significant territorial success, and there are no signs of a strategic breakthrough on its part, but it has more resources than Ukraine”, said President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel.

Pentagon Spokesperson Pat Ryder has confirmed the right of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use American weapons to strike russian military targets in the temporarily occupied Crimea. “Crimea is Ukraine”, the General pointed out.

President of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini has promised to increase electricity supplies to Ukraine in the autumn and winter.

Lithuania will learn from Ukraine's experience how to establish physical and other barriers designed to deter enemy movement.

rf

According to the World Bank's rankings of the size of the world's economies, russia has moved from 8th to 11th place behind Italy, Brazil and Canada.

Minister of Defence of Lithuania Laurynas Kasčiūnas has said that strengthening the border with the rf over the next decade will cost his country EUR 600 million.

The central bank of the rf is preparing to raise its key policy rate to 17-18% at the end of July.

The state duma has finally approved amendments to the federal budget of russia for 2024, increasing expenditures by 522 billion rubles to 37.182 trillion rubles. At the same time, total revenues are projected to decrease by 2.8 billion rubles, while the budget deficit will increase by 524.7 billion rubles and reach 2.12 trillion rubles, i.e. 1.1% of GDP, instead of the previously approved 0.9% of GDP. Oil and gas revenues will decline by 519 billion rubles and are projected to reach only 10.985 trillion rubles. Also, additional oil and gas revenues have been reduced from 1.821 trillion rubles to 1.053 trillion rubles.

russia's oil and gas revenues decreased by 6% in June compared to May, the ministry of finance has reported. The rf’s national wealth fund is also declining, and as of July 1, the volume of its liquid part is 4.603 trillion rubles, or $53.7 billion, while at the beginning of the year this figure was higher – 5.012 trillion rubles, or $55.9 billion. This liquid part consists of 229.5 billion Chinese yuan, 304 tons of gold in impersonal form and 1.7 billion rubles.

Wholesale prices of russian petrol at the st. petersburg international mercantile exchange have risen again: AI-92 – by 1.7% to 56.3 thousand rubles per ton, AI-95 – by 1.4% to 65.8 thousand rubles per ton. Market participants are confident that fuel prices in russia will continue to rise.

In June, sales of new passenger cars in the rf decreased by 2.2% compared to May. The downward trend in new car purchases is expected to continue in July.

Due to Turkey's refusal to buy russian wheat, in June the rf exported it to other markets at a price of $225 per ton, which is by 10.4% lower than in May. At the same time, the price of wheat for the domestic russian market has increased by 20% since May.

Authorities of the rf are going to triple the tax on processing centers where bookmakers in russia keep records of online bets, to 10 million rubles per month.

In the first half of 2024, russians bought by 35% less real estate in other countries compared to the previous year; the cost of the purchased objects decreased to $200-300 thousand, while a year earlier it was $300-500 thousand. By 36% fewer objects were purchased in Turkey, and by 24% fewer – in the UAE.

The decline in the number of women of reproductive age in the rf will be long-term and will last until 2046. According to rosstat, in 2023, the total fertility rate in the rf was 1.41, the lowest in the last 17 years, and in 41 regions the rate was lower than the national average.

The fsb has demanded that russian telecom operators ban providing customers with the opportunity to use VoIP accounts because of the fsb’s limited ability to track them.

On July 3, one of the rf’s largest TV shops, Shop&Show, stopped broadcasting. The channel's debts to telecom operators alone amount to almost one billion rubles.

Minister of the Interior and Administration of Poland Tomasz Siemoniak does not rule out the possibility of closing the border with the rb.

Latvia has recorded an increase in the number of attempts to “break through” the border by migrants from the rb.

During the discussion of the report on the situation in the rb at the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council, none of the 21 speakers from the EU and 8 from non-governmental organizations supported lukashenko's regime.

As of July 3, the all-republic job bank of the rb set another record: employers posted 16,045 vacancies, which is by 7,000 more than the number of offers as of May 31 this year.