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

Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Defence of EU countries have reached an agreement on a joint initiative to supply ammunition for Ukraine and replenish their own warehouses totaling EUR 2 billion.

The United States of America has announced the allocation of another package of military assistance worth $ 350 million. It will include: shells for HIMARS; artillery shells; shells for Bradley; HARM rockets; anti-tank weapons; river boats.

Ukraine has already received eight Leopard 2 tanks and auxiliary vehicles from Norway. Norway also provides earmarked funds for ammunition and spare parts. “Tanks are in place, training of personnel in Poland under the auspices of the EU is underway”, the Norwegian Armed Forces said.

North Macedonia has confirmed the transfer to Ukraine of four unsuitable for flights Su-25, which will be used as donors of spare parts. In the future, a decision may be made to send 12 North Macedonian attack helicopters Mi-24 to Ukraine.

“And I explain to my colleagues from other countries the need to think about the future. After all, Ukraine's accession to NATO after the war is also in their interests, not only in the interests of Ukraine. This is in the interests of the whole of Europe”, said Prime Minister of Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš. At the same time, Kariņš believes that if there is a country capable of setting a record in the process of joining the EU, it is Ukraine. But the Latvian Prime Minister does not see any evidence that something will change for the better inside russia in the near future.

Ukraine has signed a digital trade agreement with the United Kingdom. Thanks to the agreement, our country will receive guaranteed access to financial services, which are crucial for the country's recovery, and will help to significantly strengthen trade and investment relations between the signatory countries.

The United Kingdom is ready to offer Poland its own fighters instead of the MiG-29s sent to Ukraine.

On March 20, Australia imposed sanctions on 13 Iranian citizens and an Iranian organization engaged in the production and supply of drones to russia.

Turkey has stopped the transit to russia goods sanctioned by the West. “The Turkish government has handed over to the companies a list of prohibited foreign goods and ordered them not to transport them to russia from March 1. Any goods from this list are blocked, regardless from what country they come”, said Çetin Tecdelioğlu, Head of İstanbul Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters' Association.

Pro-russian candidate Andrija Mandić did not do it into the second round of the Montenegro presidential election.

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The Irish company Smurfit Kappa, which is Europe's largest manufacturer of corrugated cardboard packaging, has said it has completed all procedures for selling all its business in russia.

The arbitration court of nizhny novgorod region has arrested the property of the German Volkswagen concern in russia, banned any registration actions related to the liquidation, reorganization, change of the composition of participants, increase and decrease in the authorized capital of the russian “daughter” of VW and legal entities under its control.

Due to the lack of official supplies to the rf of TVs from leading manufacturers, in particular LG and Samsung, their cost has increased by more than 20 %. Chinese brands Starwind, TCL, STM, Haier, Hisense and the belarusian “vityaz” occupy 22.6 % of the russian market (according to the forecast, by the end of 2023 they will be 50 % of sales in the rf). At the same time, since the beginning of the year, the number of buyers' requests to service centers for warranty repair of such TVs has increased by more than 20%.

Since April 1, the kremlin has banned the putin administration’s officials from using the iPhone for work purposes. russian officials have been ordered to get rid of Apple smartphones and replace them with OS Android smartphones, their Chinese counterparts or the russian-made aurora.

Kazakhstan has tested sending its oil from the Kashagan field through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, bypassing russia.

Gas supplies to China do not compensate for the losses of the nord stream, – said gromov, chief energy director of the institute for energy and finance. “Even if we achieve a maximum delivery volume of 38 billion cubic meters per year as we planned, this will still not compensate for the loss of nord stream, through which we supplied 55 billion cubic meters to Western European countries”, the expert stressed. In January 2023, gazprom supplied 2.7 billion cubic meters of gas to China.

russian manufacturers of optical fiber and cables from it appealed to the government with a request to introduce a 15% customs duty on Chinese products, because they are unable to compete with them, their products are more expensive and worse in quality and, accordingly, less in demand.

After the EU banned the supply of auto parts more expensive than € 300 to the russian federation, fakes for cars increased 2.5 times.

Due to the russian crisis, the cost of more than 50% of capital construction projects, which are planned to be commissioned by the end of 2025, will increase by at least 40%.

In March, the demand for new buildings in moscow and moscow region decreased by 65 % compared to March 2022, in general in the rf – by 45 %.

Entrepreneurs in kaliningrad region complain that the region is on the verge of a blockade. Suppliers of goods claim record losses due to international sanctions, which actually have led to the suspension of the supply of goods by land from the mainland russia. Goods to the region are supplied mainly by sea, but ferry lines cannot cope with the load, which is why trucks with goods in ports have been waiting for their turn for months.

According to a pre- election survey of the russian party “pensioners for social justice”, 76 % of russian citizens “expect significant changes in the country”.

moscow detention centers are overcrowded by 17.6 %. melnikov, a member of the human rights council has stated that the number of the arrested would have been twice higher, but they had been transferred to other regions until the court decision. The greatest overcrowding is in the temporarily occupied Crimea, tambov and rostov regions. As of August 2022, the russian pre -trial detention centers were filled by 96 %.

At an expanded meeting of the ministry of internal affairs of the rf, putin urged the police to severely stop any protest actions, “attempts to shake up the society and the spread of extremist ideology”. This “work” should more actively involve representatives of religious denominations, youth and other public organizations, – stressed the russian dictator.

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) retained the forecast of annual inflation in belarus at 8 %. Price regulation continues to restrain prices. In the second quarter, inflation may slow down, but by the end of the year it will gain a pace again, the EDB analysts believe. Both the preservation of price regulation and poor domestic consumer demand continue to reduce inflation.

head of the state control committee of belarus vasily gerasimov has stated that 653 criminal cases have been initiated as a result of his inspections. On the facts of concealment of the great mortality of cattle alone, 122 criminal cases have been opened. 4 379 persons have been brought to disciplinary and administrative responsibility, including 31 heads of district executive committees.

first deputy chairman of the state duma’s committee on cis, eurasian integration and relations with countrymen, konstantin zatulin, expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that president lukashenko himself never declared Crimea as part of the rf.