November 29, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Minister of Defence of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans has announced the transfer of three Patriot missile launchers to Ukraine. “It has been and remains in our common interest to stop russia’s aggression”, Brekelmans emphasized.

The European Parliament has called for the provision of Taurus missiles and more Patriot systems to Ukraine amid a “new phase in the war”. MEPs have also called on the EU to work to achieve the widest possible international support for Ukraine.

The United States is preparing a $725 million military aid package for Ukraine, which will include anti-tank weapons, anti-personnel mines, drones, Stinger missiles, ammunition for HIMARS systems, and cluster munitions.

The Finnish company Summa Defense, in cooperation with Ukrainian partners, will build a plant to produce unmanned systems in Finland.

The European Union and Ukraine have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide EUR 18.1 billion in macro-financial assistance secured by frozen russian assets.

The World Bank has approved $664 million for Ukraine under the INSPIRE social sector project, which aims to provide social protection for the poor and vulnerable.

Norway and Germany are providing EUR 2 million in grants to support energy resilience for micro and small businesses in Ukraine.

rf

The united credit bureau of the rf has reported that in October, out of 47.1 million russians with credit cards, banks increased the limit for only 2.7% (in April-September, the figure was 25%).

russian manufacturers of household appliances, as well as enterprises that assemble products of foreign companies in the rf, including Beko, Tefal, Kuppersberg, have announced an average 10% increase in prices for their goods for russian retail chains starting January 1, 2025.

In January-September, the balanced financial result (profit minus loss) of russian companies decreased by 19.1%, compared to last year, – to RUB 21.368 trillion. The financial result has been declining for the fourth month in a row, but now it has accelerated significantly: in August, the decline was 5.8%.

Income tax revenues in the rf have decreased by 7% (by RUB 357 billion). The worst economic situation is in kemerovo region (minus 59% of last year's taxes), as well as in novgorod, murmansk and vologda regions.

“russian railways” has announced that it lacks 3,000 drivers and their assistants, which is why the average daily number of trains taken out of service increased 3.5 times in the first nine months of the year. In the third quarter, 173 trains were shut down, – 3.7 times more than last year (in August-September the figure was more than 200).

In russia, airline tickets for the New Year holidays have gone up by 6-11%. At the same time, the number of people willing to travel to russia during this period has decreased by 17%.

russia is experiencing a shortage of Tricaft, a targeted pathogenetic medicine for the treatment of children’s cystic fibrosis (a disorder of the respiratory and digestive systems). In December, 400 children will run out of the medicine, and in February the number of patients who will be left without life-saving therapy will exceed one thousand.

On November 28, the dollar rose by 1.76% to RUB 3.5951, while the euro rose by 3.43% to RUB 3.8529 at the rb’s currency and stock exchange. The yuan rose by 1.13% to RUB 4.9056 per 10 yuan.

In the rb, 3.5% of the population lives below the poverty line. As of the beginning of 2024, 9,155,978 people lived in the rb, so in the third quarter of this year, about 320,460 people were below the poverty line. Their income was below the subsistence budget of 433 rubles.

Despite the significant increase in the number of AIDS cases, the rb decided to rename World AIDS Day to HIV prevention day.

The rf proposes to introduce a holiday in the rb to honour the third partition of Rzeczpospolita, to declare Kościuszko and Kalinowski “fighters for the Polish idea” and to influence the academy of sciences, as their presentation of “the history of belarus is anti-russian”.