March 21, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

“The European Council calls on russia to show real political will to end the war,” 26 EU member states emphasized in their conclusions following the summit in Brussels. The EU also plans to announce the continuation of military support for Ukraine.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas proposes to approve the annual EUR 40 billion aid package for Ukraine in small steps and first agree on EUR 5 billion for ammunition for Ukraine.

Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo has said that Ukraine should become a member of the European Union “as soon as possible and no later than 2030.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda believes that Ukraine may join the EU before the Balkan countries do.

Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni is convinced that it is important to extend the security guarantees of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty to Ukraine. “If russia does not plan to invade its neighbors again, it is unclear why it should not accept security guarantees that are purely defensive,” she added.

The government of the FRG has allocated an additional EUR 3 billion for military aid to Ukraine in 2025. Minister of Finance of Germany Jörg Kukis has informed the Bundestag Budget Committee that the requirements for the allocation of additional funds to our country have been met.

Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, together with his colleagues, introduced a draft of bipartisan resolution that would prohibit the United States from recognizing russia's claims to sovereign Ukrainian territories occupied by the rf. “Just as we refused to recognize the soviet annexation of the Baltic states, we must never legitimize russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Borders cannot be redrawn by force,” explained the Republican Congressman.

European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis has said that within the framework of the SAFE security initiative announced by the European Union, the Ukrainian defense industry will be involved on an equal footing with the defense industry of EU member states in strengthening the defense capabilities of the European Union.

Ukraine has received a new batch of F-16 fighter jets.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated that the United States will continue sharing intelligence with Ukraine in terms of defense.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO) has increased the total amount of funding for the call for proposals for Swiss companies in Ukraine from CHF 50 million to up to CHF 100 million (about $113.5).

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President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda has said that by making unreasonable demands, russia is demonstrating its unwillingness to reach a truce with Ukraine.

The EU has transferred EUR 1 billion to Ukraine as part of the G7 loan, which will be repaid from the proceeds of immobilized russian assets.

“russia is and will be a permanent threat to the European Union. And that is why we are now really preparing and building our own strong defense,” said Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo.

In February 2025, car lending in the rf decreased by 47 % year-on-year and reached its lowest level since spring 2023.

By 2023, the labor shortage in the rf’s trade will be more than 500 thousand people. The owners of the “pyaterochka” and “perekrestok” chains have already started hiring staff from India as an experiment.

To get a loan to buy a two-bedroom flat in a new building on market terms, a resident of a russian metropolis will need to earn 170-528 thousand rubles a month – about five times the average salary in the region.

In February, the total cost of POS loans in the rf rose to 28.11 %. At the beginning of March the figure rose to 28.55 %.

Because of the danger of “recruitment” of officials by russian and belarusian special services, the Saeima of Latvia plans to pass a draft law in April that will ban more than 40,000 Latvian civil servants from traveling to the rf and the rb.

In the rf, starting April 1, the basic rental value will be increased by 5.7 % – to 18.77 rubles, which will lead to an increase in the cost of services.

In March, a new entity from belarus, “metatradingprom”, was added to Poland’s sanctions list. The company, founded in April 2024, allegedly started mass production of granular fertilizers in August. In reality, the company started exporting the product of the sanctioned “grodno azot” at the end of last year.

In 2024, authorities of the rb tried to prosecute fifteen journalists of the belarusian service of Radio Liberty through criminal cases initiated in absentia