March 24, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel has said that his country is ready to take part in a foreign mission that will send troops to Ukraine in case of a potential peace agreement. At the same time, Pavel believes that security guarantees for Ukraine could consist of two components: a deal with the United States on minerals and some stabilizing military force from European countries.

President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel has reiterated that legally the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine cannot be recognized as russia’s.

Ukraine has launched production of ammunition for small arms under a Czech license.

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer have reaffirmed the importance of unwavering support for Ukraine and discussed the plans of the Coalition of the Resolute to provide reliable security guarantees as a key condition for lasting peace in our country.

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“I don’t trust putin, and therefore I take everything he says with some degree of caution. We know what happens if there aren’t security arrangements, which is, he’ll breach the deal in due course, in his own time,” emphasized Keir Starmer.

The European Commission will allocate EUR 52 million to Poland to strengthen its borders with the rf and the rb.

Following the example of Poland, Lithuania is considering the possibility of installing anti-personnel mines on the borders with the rf and the rb.

The central bank of the rf has once again left its key policy rate unchanged in an effort to curb inflation in the country. The head of the main bank of russia does not hide in her statements that the aim of the high rate (21%) is to encourage people to open annual deposits, i.e. to withdraw “extra” funds from the population.

The general level of anxiety among russians is growing – to 40 %, while calmness has dropped to 53%. The top worrying factors are “worrying about the special military operation” with about 20 %. All in all, 37 % of respondents worried about the internal situation in the country related to military events.

Since the beginning of 2025, the price of basic necessities has risen by more than 8 % in  Tyumen region. The price of rye bread has increased the most (+8.2 %), followed by wheat bread (+8 %), and rye-wheat bread (+5.3 %). The reason for the rise in prices is the rise in prices for flour and sugar, warehouse and transportation logistics, and packaging materials.

According to rosstat, in 2024, inflation in russia was 9.52 %, compared to 7.42 % in 2023. However, official data do not reflect the real price increase for most consumer goods. For this purpose, a different  term is used – “inflation for the poor” (including food prices), which according to analysts, in 2024  amounted to about 16 %, i.e. exceeded the official inflation rate by about 7 %.

According to rosstat, for the period from January 1 to March 17, 2025, inflation in russia was 2.28 %, which again obviously does not take into account the real increase in prices for food, medicines, etc.

In January-March 2025, compared to last year, airfares for domestic flights in russia rose by more than 20 %. The average cost is about 16 thousand rubles. Prices for foreign destinations have also increased, by an average of 15 %. Among the main reasons, in addition to the rise in fuel prices and airport charges, is the real impact of sanctions, when airlines, due to the “geopolitical situation,” have to “look for solutions to preserve the fleet of planes and purchase the necessary units for them.”

Amid the decline in global oil prices, the price of petrol in the rb has begun to rise. The paradoxical situation is related to the unprofitability of the country’s refineries, which is confirmed by the statistics of the regions where they are located. For example, the loss of enterprises in mozyr region, where the mozyr oil refinery is located, has amounted to 1.1 billion rubles. The return on turnover was negative, minus 3.9 %. In novopolotsk, where the “naftan” refinery is located, the net loss last year was even higher and amounted to 1.7 billion rubles, or $530 million.

In minsk, the most popular profession is a loader. A significant number of companies have dozens of vacancies, although they offer salaries in the range of 1,900-2,800 rubles ($590-860) depending on the work schedule.