May 24, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The United Kingdom has sent a £150 million military aid package to Ukraine to strengthen air and sea defenses, including air defence radars, decoys and electronic warfare systems worth £70million, and £80 million for small boats, reconnaissance drones and unmanned surface vessels.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has emphasized that the United States does not support or encourage the use of Western weapons supplied to Ukraine for strikes beyond Ukrainian territory, but it is up to Ukraine to decide how to effectively use these weapons.

“I think we need to allow Ukraine to prosecute the war the way they see fit... They (Ukrainians) need to be able to fight back. And I think attempting to “micromanage” Ukraine's defense is not good policy for us”, said Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, regarding the permission to use American weapons to strike the territory of the rf.

The government of France has supported the USA’s proposal to use the revenues from blocked russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine, raising the prospect of a deal at a meeting of Group of Seven Finance Ministers on May 24-25 in Italy.

Ukraine and Greece may soon sign a bilateral security agreement.

Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis has confirmed his participation in the Peace Summit.

The Peace Summit in Switzerland will be guarded by up to four thousand military servicemen.

Poland is beefing up security at its main hub for military aid to Ukraine amid concerns about russian-backed sabotage operations.

Arms imports to Ukraine have increased by 6,633% over five years, while russia’s arms sales have decreased by 53% over the same period.

“No one knows better than Ukraine: whoever loves freedom, he should not give in to the aggressor. And no one knows when putin's thirst for power will be satisfied. The threat that russia poses to us will not just disappear either”, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasized.

87% of EU residents are in favor of humanitarian support for Ukrainians, 83% are in favor of accepting refugees from Ukraine.

This year, the Italian government has increased funding “available to young Ukrainians who intend to study in Italy and meet the requirements”.

The Sejm of Poland has adopted a government law on extending the legality of stay and assistance to Ukrainians until September 30, 2025.

In 2023, Ukraine delivered 45.8 thousand tons of honey to the EU market and became the second largest supplier of this product.

Ukraine and Latvia plan to cooperate on increasing the export of Ukrainian products.

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Authorities of Norway have banned russians from visiting the country for tourist and other “non-essential” purposes. Entry for such persons to the territory of the Scandinavian country will be closed from May 29. The restriction on entry to Norway will apply both to those with visas issued by Norway before spring 2022 and with visas issued by other Schengen countries.

Deputy President of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry Aigars Rostovskis announced plans to exclude the rf and the rb from the organization, because the policy of those countries does not correspond to the principles of Europe.

The Seimas of Lithuania intends to make a decision on the termination of four agreements between Lithuania and the governments of the rb and the rf on support and protection of investments, trade and economic relations. Some contracts will be terminated only with the consent of the Seimas, others – by a government resolution.

The Commission on de-sovietization of Lithuania, carrying out a review of soviet-era public inscriptions and symbols, has recommended that the authorities in the country’s four districts – Tauragė, Kupiškis, Ignalina, and Mažeikiai – replace monuments at the burial sites of soviet soldiers.

Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Siliņa believes that the arson attacks in Poland are not just russia's desire to destabilize the situation in the country, but a signal to Latvian politicians from russian special services.

The Austrian company OMV has warned the russian “gazprom” that, due to the decision of one of the European courts, it will no longer be able to pay for the supply of gas directly to “gazprom export”. The court's decision may extend to other gas recipients of “gazprom” in Europe, in which case the russian company will lose up to $1.35-1.45 billion in revenue.

Fearing secondary sanctions, China, which is currently the main political and economic ally of the rf, is in no hurry to agree to opening branches of russian banks on its territory. At the moment only vtb works in the country, opening accounts takes from a few months to half a year. In October of 2023, sberbank and alfa-bank announced their intention to open branches in China, but it never came to fruition.

Railway transportation of construction cargo in russia shows the worst performance in the last five years. According to the information center of operators, from January 1 to May 15, the average daily load was lower than last year by 7%. In May, the indicator is estimated at 675 thousand tons, which is by 5% less than in May 2023. At the same time, in April, the average daily load of crushed stone was 228,000 tons, in May – 221,000, which is by 13% and 15% less than in these months a year ago. Transportation of cement and part of industrial cargo decreased by 14.6% in four months.

In April, the transportation of construction materials to moscow decreased by 40%, to moscow region – by 24%, in May by 21% and 26%, respectively.

The export of construction cargo from the rf accounted for only 2% of the total volume of transportation. Imports decreased by 15% in April and by 31% in May, mainly due to a decrease in crushed stone supplies from the rb.

russian rebar manufactures have stated that the current tariff of 4-7% makes their exports unprofitable and uncompetitive in foreign markets.

Authorities of the rf are planning to introduce utilization fee for foreign manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, so that russian products can compete, first of all, with Chinese ones. Market participants fear that such a decision may lead to a serious increase in equipment costs and reduce the quality of communication.

According to the results of 2023, the global list of the most cited scientists included 6,835 researchers from 64 countries, including only 8 russians (the most russians were in 2020 – 14). For comparison: 2,542 people are affiliated with organizations in the USA, 1,350 in China, 562 in the United Kingdom, and 333 in Germany.

On May 23, due to the danger of flights, the kazan airport is prohibited from receiving and sending civil aircrafts, the rosaviation reported.

The EU’s new sanctions will prohibit the export to and through the rb of technologies and goods that can be used for military purposes. The ban will also extend to the supply of liquefied gas. The import of diamonds from the rb is also expected to be stopped, which is connected with the decision to ban the supply of precious stones of russian origin.

On May 22, Minister of National Defense of Poland Władysław Kosyniak-Kamysz presented a report on the state of the country's security in the Sejm, including the Eastern Shield national defense and deterrence plan. He expressed readiness to increase the “military presence” on the border with the rb and to allocate additional funding for this purpose.

In January-April, the import of belarusian potash to China decreased significantly – to 292.8 million dollars compared to the same period last year, the ministry of finance of the rb reported. The decrease in the total amount for which potash was sold to the PRC is more than 52% during this period. In the four months of this year, 292.8 million dollars worth of potash was imported from the rb – which is the third highest figure among all countries that supply this product to China. During the same period in 2023, the rf sent potash worth 618.1 million dollars to China. This indicates both a decrease in fertilizer prices and a drop in supply volumes.

The prosecutor of brest region has restricted access to the website povestka.org due to its violation of the law “on mass media”. The portal published information that “promotes methods of evading military duty, and provides assistance to conscripts in evading military service, which is against the national interests of the state”.

Car park No. 6 of gomeloblavtotrans jsc ordered the production and installation of two signs above the entrance by the group of the branch in the amount of 29 thousand rubles (more than 9 thousand dollars). The enterprise itself is problematic – the wear and tear level of transport is 77%, and the profitability of bus transportation is 64%.

The kgb of the rb has detained an employee of the criminal investigation department of the dokshytsky district and a participant in the political repressions captain zghirsky, who is accused of leading a gang that robbed trucks.