March 20, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

“We remain unwavering in our support for Ukraine,” said President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

“We both agree that Ukraine can count on us, that Ukraine can count on Europe and that we will not let (Kyiv) down,” Chancellor of the FRG Olaf Scholz said after meeting with President of France Emmanuel Macron.

“Our position is to try to facilitate and help Ukraine achieve its goals. Our main position is that Ukraine should have the right to choose. The right to choose its own future. The right to choose its own destiny. The right to choose the international organizations it wants to participate in, and the two key ones are the EU and NATO,” said President of Finland Alexander Stubb.

Sweden’s Minister for European Union Affairs and Nordic Cooperation Jessica Rosencrantz believes that Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU would be an investment in the security of the entire continent. “In the midst of war, Ukraine has sped up the pace of reforms. The EU should be ready to move at the same pace,” she added.

The European Commission has presented a White Paper on European Defense – Readiness 2030, in which support for Ukraine through increased military aid and deeper integration of the European and Ukrainian defense industries is one of the key directions. In the document, “we are gathering proposals from military support initiatives, offering support for Ukraine, including more ammunition – at least two million units annually – as well as air defense, drones, training and equipment for Ukrainian brigades,” commented High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

The United Kingdom and the European Union are in talks to speed up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine amid the process aimed at a potential truce.

“We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to ensure russia can never launch an illegal invasion again,” the UK Government said in a statement.

In a joint letter, top diplomats of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia called on the EU to urgently formulate a clear roadmap for Ukraine to become a full member of the European community.

On March 19, a Civil Protection Coalition, under Finland’s leadership, was launched to help build shelters in Ukraine.

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“If you read the two readouts from the call, it is clear that... russia does not really want to make any kind of concessions,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, regarding the kremlin’s latest statements.

“Naturally, russia’s neighbours are most concerned by russia – that goes without saying. But what is essential is for everyone to understand that this is a collective threat. russia is a threat to all of us,” emphasized President of the European Council António Costa.

President of Finland Alexander Stubb has said that the red line for Europe in the process of peace negotiations with russia is to ensure that russia cannot repeat its aggression in the future. According to him, Finland’s experience shows that Ukraine should never agree to terms that would mean the loss of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen believes that Europe must become fully self-sufficient in defense over the next three to five years to deter aggressive russia.

Minister of Defence of the FRG Boris Pistorius has said putin is “playing games” with the ceasefire in Ukraine as the russian army launched drone attacks on Ukrainian cities after his conversation with US President Donald Trump.

The European Council intends to emphasize in the conclusions of the summit to be held in Brussels on March 20-21 the need to bring to justice those responsible for crimes committed during russia's war against Ukraine and to recognize the importance of establishing a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine within the Council of Europe.

Poland, as part of the Eastern Shield project, plans to place anti-personnel mines on the borders with the rf and the rb.

The ulyanovsk automobile plant’s production has dropped by 41 % as compared to last year. In February, the plant produced 1650 cars, most of which were so-called “loaves” – ordered by the ministry of defence of the rf. The commercial segment’s products are a sort of constructors made of Chinese components: “patriots”, “pickups”, “hunters” are not in demand because of their design, characteristics and too high prices (about 1.8 million rubles). The overall decline of the car market in the rf is 75%, and the situation will only be getting worse in March.

Since the beginning of 2025, russian telecommunication companies have been actively replacing DWDM equipment made in China with russian compatibles. The reason is a significant increase in prices due to sanctions and problems with payments. At the same time, representatives of companies admit that 80 % of even updated russian equipment are Chinese components.

Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Kazakhstan’s Home Credit Bank have warned of restrictions for citizens of belarus and russia. Home Credit Bank has already toughened the conditions for transfers in dollars and euros for citizens of the rf and the rb, while Deutsche Bank will not conduct transactions related to these two countries starting March 21.

MPs of Lithuania propose to toughen sanctions against russians and belarusians who frequently travel to their homeland. In particular, if russians and belarusians traveled home more than once a quarter, they would  face revocation of their residence permits in the Baltic States. This will help reduce the risks of their recruitment and involvement in actions to the detriment of national security.

Another 8 European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Ukraine, and Montenegro) have joined the EU sanctions package against belarus adopted on February 24. Additional restrictions were introduced “due to the situation in belarus.”

At a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, representative of the rb larisa belskaya said that there are no political persecutions in her country, and international organizations are spreading false information about repressions.