March 19, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the G7 at a meeting in Canada agreed on pressure tools to force russia to start “serious negotiations” on a ceasefire.

The United Kingdom and the European Union are intensifying negotiations on how to confiscate frozen russian assets to increase pressure on the rf ahead of possible peace talks on ending russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Türkiye can help contribute to security guarantees, which will be a key condition for stable and lasting peace in Ukraine,” said Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof.

“The Accounting Chamber has carried out four audits to verify the use of a part of the US direct budget support to Ukraine. The results of the audits, which were conducted with the support of the Center for Audit Excellence of the US Government Accountability Office, confirmed that the financial support provided to Ukraine by the United States was used effectively and in accordance with the defined goals,” the US Government Accountability Office said in an official statement.

Spokesperson for China International Development Cooperation Agency Li Ming has said that since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, China has handed over four batches of humanitarian aid to Kyiv and is ready to contribute to the post-war recovery and reconstruction of our country.

Ukraine is working with the Netherlands on the prospects of using domestic gas storage facilities for the needs of EU member states.

Ukraine is working with Denmark on projects to restore the damaged energy infrastructure.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has said that only NATO's military power can deter russia.

“Our neighbour russia is an aggressor who was and remains the most serious security threat to not just Estonia but to all of Europe,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna commented on his country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention that bans anti-personnel mines.

The Government of Latvia has decided from March 19, to partially close the “Pāternieki” border control point on the border with the rf in Krāslava Municipality and the “Grebniovo” and “Terekhovo” border control points on the border with the rf in Ludza Municipality.

head of the russian-asian union of industrialists and entrepreneurs vitaly mankevich has called the restriction of access to Western technologies the most tangible consequences of the Group of Seven (G7) countries’ anti-russian sanctions.

At the end of 2024, russia’s national debt increased by 13.5 %, or almost by 3.5 trillion rubles, and reached 14.5 % of GDP. Separately, the domestic debt amounted to 23.74 trillion rubles, which is 89 % of the approved upper limit of the public domestic debt. The external debt amounted to $52.109 billion, which is 82.7 % of the ceiling.

Electricity prices will be raised in 42 regions of the rf, including Moscow region, Siberian Federal District, the Far East and the North Caucasus: the electricity price increase factor will be raised to 1.8 during the heating season for citizens who heat their private homes with electricity.

Over the year, prices for new housing in the rf increased the most in Kazan – by 23.4 %, Chelyabinsk (+19.3 %) and moscow (+19.1 %). As a result, only 37 % of developers in the first months of 2025 realized their plans to sell flats.

Over the year, private houses in russia rose in price the most in Omsk (+30.5 %) and Volgograd (+30.1 %) regions, Perm Krai (18.9 %), Bashkortostan (+16.7 %) and Chelyabinsk region (+16.5 %).

In the first half of March, russian drivers had to pay by above 15 % more for spring car preparation than in the same period in 2024 due to the rising cost of services and components.

In the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region, 35 ambulance employees have resigned since the beginning of the month. The reason was an excessive workload due to lack of staff and low salaries. The mass resignation of doctors could leave the city without emergency medical care.

In order to quickly fill the shortage of workers, members of the state duma have approved in the third reading a draft law that simplifies the mass sending of schoolchildren to vocational schools, namely, through halving the number of mandatory tests for the main state exam for 9th formers.

In Mozyr, a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, local authorities have launched a massive trade from mobile shops, as the local monopoly chain put all its shops up for sale.