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

“We will continue to support Ukraine's urgent needs on the battlefield”, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin said.

US Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made it clear that the adoption of additional aid to Ukraine and Israel will be a priority for him in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The USA’s Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has said that the United States and the United Kingdom are working with Ukraine to strengthen the protection of the Ukrainian energy system from russian shelling.

Japan plans to provide Ukraine with EUR 160 million to support economic recovery projects.

Finland still intends to continue providing military support to Ukraine, despite the situation on the border, said President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö.

Lithuania will transfer the fines for non-compliance with the existing international and national sanctions to the Development Cooperation Fund to rebuild Ukraine.

Hungary has handed over 100 artificial lung ventilation devices to medical institutions in Ukraine.

The first Ukrainian-language radio station Druzi has been launched in Estonia, which aims to support cultural exchange between Ukrainians and Estonians, to preserve and develop Ukrainian identity in Estonia. The radio station is available in a browser, on a radio receiver and is going to make its own app for iOS and Android.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned Bosnia and Herzegovina against external unfriendly influences, in particular from russia, which pose a threat to the stability and security of the country.

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Latvia intends to involve the army in the construction of defence infrastructure on the border with the rf.

Minister of the Interior of Finland Mari Rantanen has said that the closure of border crossing points with the rf has partially yielded results. At the same time, Finland is preparing to close the last four checkpoints on the border with russia on the night of November 21-22.

From March 2024, Bulgaria will ban the Lukoil oil refinery in the city of Burgas from using russian oil.

The EU intends to abandon russian diamonds both, through direct deliveries and after cutting in other countries; the proposed version of sanctions, if adopted, will be tougher than in the United States. Europe has always been an important market for russian diamonds, but this year their supply to the EU has already decreased by more than 25% compared to 2022.

The French machine-building concern Alstom will withdraw from the shareholders of the russian transmashholding (tmh) by the end of 2023.

Due to russian bureaucracy and lack of transparency in decision-making, the Indian pharmaceutical company Jodas Expoim has not been able to start building a factory for the production of oncology medicines in moscow for two years.

The state duma has increased the duty for the issuance of foreign passports of russians with an electronic chip from 5 thousand to 6 thousand rubles.

With the adoption of the federal budget for 2024, russians have been warned about an increase in utility tariffs by at least 10%.

The russian concern avtovaz has announced a 10% reduction in the production plan for 2023: due to international sanctions, “logistics and financial chains” are disrupted for the second time in a year. At the end of November, sales of the concern's products will be by 8.3% less than in October.

rosaviatsia has offered airlines to start flights to North Korea. At the same time, experts say that the prospects of this direction are weak, it is unlikely that there will be several thousand applicants a year. For comparison: Iran, which is a more open country but is also under international sanctions, was visited by only 20 thousand russians in 2022.

Due to the reduction in the purchasing power of the population of the rf, 70% of russian furniture suppliers have reoriented to cheaper products with low-quality fittings and materials.

According to the rf central bank’s survey, russians do not believe in the annual inflation of 4% promised by the authorities, they say that the real inflation rate is at least 12%. Of the food products in the rf over the year, tangerines (by 35%), chicken (by 27%), and eggs (by 25%) have risen in price the most.

Despite the New Year's sales, the cost of smartphones in the rf will be by 15-20% higher than last year.

According to the махімum education company’s survey of 1,293 students in forms 7-11 from all regions of russia, 16% of schoolchildren have to work part-time.

The state duma has prepared a bill banning the adoption of russian children by citizens of countries that have change of gender. “In fact, we are introducing a ban on the adoption of children by NATO countries, since most of the countries that allow adoption and same-sex marriage are NATO countries”, said mp piskarev.

In russia, employees of the vyborg shipyard, which builds icebreakers, freezing trawlers and offshore drilling platforms, went on strike due to wage cuts. The problem arose after the state stake in the united shipbuilding corporation, which includes the plant, was transferred to the state-owned bank vtb. putin admitted that the state-owned corporation, which has been unprofitable for two years in a row, has many problems.

The Eurasian Development Bank has announced the acceleration of inflation in belarus. In October, the annual growth of the consumer price index was 3.7% against 2% in September, the annual growth rate of food prices accelerated markedly to 4.3%. Also, a significant contribution to the increase in inflation is formed by the increase in prices for services, which amounted to 7.9 % in October.

According to the ministry of healthcare, 59 cases of measles have been registered in belarus, most of which are imported from russia. From January to September of this year, 8,073 cases of the disease were diagnosed there, which is 288 times more than in the same period last year.