March 7, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The United Kingdom has signed a deal with Anduril worth nearly 30 million pounds (over $38.6 million) to supply Ukraine with the latest Altius 600m and Altius 700m UAVs.

Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson has emphasized that Sweden and many other countries provide Ukraine with important intelligence.

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof has said that his country will invest EUR 700 million in the production of drones for Ukraine.

The Government of the Netherlands has begun discussing a possible allocation of EUR 3.5 billion to support Ukraine in 2026.

Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre has announced his intention to significantly increase aid to Ukraine this year.

“This is a turning point for Europe and for Ukraine, which is part of our European family. Europe is facing a clear, obvious threat. And so Europe needs to be capable of  defending  itself, just as it needs to make sure that Ukraine is capable of  defending itself, and to promote a just and sustainable peace,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

“We must ensure further  support for Ukraine. This is a task that will also be important in the discussions at the European Council today. In my view, the first priority is to ensure that Europe's financial and military support will be maintained,” Chancellor of the FRG Olaf Scholz emphasized.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has announced that next week in Paris there will be a meeting of the chiefs of staff of the armies of those European countries that are potentially ready to participate in the European contingent in Ukraine within the framework of security guarantees. According to Macron, the conditions for ending the russian-Ukrainian war cannot be those that would mean Ukraine's de facto surrender.

The Ministry of Defence of Türkiye has said that the country is ready to deploy troops to Ukraine to ensure peace. “The issue of contributing to a mission will be considered if deemed necessary for establishing regional stability and peace, and will be assessed mutually with all relevant parties,” the statement reads.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have signed a guarantee agreement that will allow the Bank to invest at least EUR 2 billion in urgent recovery and reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

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russia has become a threat to France and Europe, President of France Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the nation. He pointed out that the war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three years, and the kremlin has turned it into a “global conflict” using north korean troops and iranian military equipment. “Peace can no longer be guaranteed on our own continent. The russian threat is here and is affecting European countries, affecting us,” Macron emphasized. At the same time, he confirmed that he is ready to consider the possibility of using French nuclear weapons to protect European allies.

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk believes that Europe today is really determined to take responsibility for its security and is capable of winning the arms race imposed by russia.

“We need a bigger European defense, and if one or two countries don't want to share this view, I think the others should go forward as much as possible. And that's what I'm in favor of,” said Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

Before the beginning of the EU summit, Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk announced plans to discuss with European allies an increase in the presence of European and NATO troops on the border with russia and belarus. According to him, a united Europe is stronger than russia in the military, financial and economic spheres.

Dozens of MPs from different European countries have sent an open letter to King Philippe of Belgium calling on him to support the confiscation of EUR 250 billion of frozen russian assets in support of Ukraine. “Europe stands at a dangerous crossroads... Both our partners and adversaries are looking closely at the cracks in Europe's resolve, and the consequences will be wider than just in the issue of Ukraine,” the letter says.

Germany’s Government Spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit has said that the country has no plans to resume gas supplies from russia or restore the Nord Stream–2 gas pipeline.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania has declared russia’s military attaché in Bucharest and his deputy persona non grata “for conducting activities contrary to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.” russian spies are implicated in the criminal case against pro-kremlin politician Calin Georgescu as “liaisons to a network of his supporters”.

In Romania, an organized criminal group was detected which was going to carry out a coup d'état in favor of russia. Six people were detained as part of the case, the country's Prosecutor's Office said. According to the agency, in 2023, “five defendants, together with the suspect, created an organized criminal group to undermine the sovereignty and independence of the Romanian state.” “The members of the criminal group would have repeatedly contacted agents of a foreign power, located both on the territory of Romania and the rf. In January, two of the accused traveled to moscow, where they had contact with individuals who supported the organization’s “efforts to take over state power in Romania”, reads the statement.

Minister of the Interior of Latvia Rihards Kozlovskis has called on the European Union to stop issuing Schengen tourist visas to russian citizens.

russia's gross domestic product growth in January 2025 slowed down to 3.0 % year-on-year compared to 4.5 % in December.

In 2024, the accumulated balanced financial result (profit minus loss) of organizations of the rf decreased by 6.9 % year-on-year to RUB 30.43 trillion.

The foreign exchange reserves of the rf as of the end of the day on February 28, 2025 amounted to $632.4 billion, having decreased by $2.2 billion over the past week.

2025 will legally be the last year of flights for most aircrafts in the fleet of russian companies. The lack of spare parts will affect even superjets, whose all critical components – engines, avionics, electrical equipment, landing gear, and fuel systems – were made in the West.

In 2024, 431.9 thousand people were declared bankrupt in russia, which is by 23.6 % more than in 2023. Moreover, in 96.7 % of cases, debtors do so on their own initiative. In total, 1.53 million people have been declared bankrupt since the possibility of consumer bankruptcy was introduced in October 2015.

The russian crypto exchange Garantex has announced the suspension of its operations due to the blocking of the platform's wallets by Tether, which issues the largest stablecoin USDT. The blocking of wallets on Garantex in the amount of 2.5 billion rubles took place amid increasing sanctions pressure. On February 24, the European Union included russia’s cryptocurrency exchange in a new package of restrictions.

The state duma in the first reading has approved a draft law banning “foreign agents” from conducting educational and training activities for both minors (which was previously prohibited) and adults. The adopted document also allows for the deprivation of “foreign agents” of their teaching licenses and termination of such licenses. In addition, “foreign agents” will be denied access to municipal financial support. Under current regulations, they are banned from receiving state financial aid.

The state duma defense committee has approved a draft law that extends the validity of a military commissar's decision to draft a recruit into the army. Currently, such a decision is valid for one conscription campaign (spring or autumn) – now it is proposed to extend the period to one year.

The ministry of education of Rostov region is going to purchase 743 exact replicas of the 9mm Makarov pistol for schools. The public procurement is planned to be carried out as part of the project “All the Best for Children”.

The International Luge Federation (FIL) has commented on the possible admission of russians and belarusians to the competition: “The situation in FIL is the same as in 2023 and 2024 – russian/belarusian athletes and officials remain removed from the events under the auspices of FIL.”

The first month of the year was a failure for foreign trade in belarus: compared to January 2024, exports fell by 11.5 %, and imports increased by 1 %. As a result, the deficit exceeded half a billion dollars. In January, belarus supplied abroad $ 2.7 billion in goods (minus 11.5 % year on year), and imported goods worth $ 3.2 billion (plus 1 % year on year). The difference exceeded $504 million in trade with the rest of the world except the rf. All is very bad. The “distant arc” does not want to buy belarussian products: exports fell by 21.3 %, while imports from those countries increased by 8.9 %. The negative trade balance exceeded $560 million.

Last year, foreign trade caused belarus a $1.3 billion loss.

siloviki of the rb ask belarussians living abroad to sign the statement that they do not plan to return to their homeland and agree that a criminal case against them will be closed.

In January, the salary of employees of budget organizations was 1,870 rubles. This amount is by 113 rubles (5.7 %) smaller than it was a month earlier. In January the average salary in the country also decreased – by 266.5 rubles compared to December last year.