October 19, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Germany has handed over another tranche of military aid to Ukraine, namely: eight Leopard 1A5 tanks, 20 Marder armored personnel carriers, ammunition for Leopard 2 and Leopard 1 tanks, four MRAP mine-resistant vehicles, IRIS-T SLM air defense system, IRIS-T SLS air defense system, IRIS-T SLM and Sea Sparrow missiles, six Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery systems, 24,000 155 mm shells, 30 Vector reconnaissance UAVs, and a Biber bridge-laying tank, two WISENT 1 mine clearing tanks, 100 portable mine clearing systems H-PEMBS, 90 mine detectors, a mine trawl, 57 laser range finders, three thousand RGW 90 grenade launchers, 25 thousand 40-mm ammunition, 75 thousand turnstiles, 460 MK 556 assault rifles, 110 HLR 338 sniper rifles and 240 thousand rounds of ammunition for them. 30 HAENEL CR 308 rifles, and three thousand SFP9 pistols.

Canada has announced a military aid package worth 64.8 million Canadian dollars (about 47 million US dollars), which will include small arms, ammunition, and protective gear.

Norway will soon provide Ukraine with six F-16 fighter jets.

France intends to supply Ukraine with the first batch of Colibri kamikaze drones.

The Netherlands, together with Denmark, have ordered a new batch of 155 mm shells for Ukraine from the Czech defense industry. The Netherlands has also ordered 6 new DITA self-propelled artillery systems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo has said that in the coming months his country will provide Ukraine with a new package of aid to get through the winter.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has announced that by the end of the year, Ukraine will receive another tranche of aid under the Ukraine Facility mechanism, totaling EUR 50 billion.

Leaders of the EU member states have called for strengthening and speeding up military support for Ukraine, in particular, air defense systems, ammunition and missiles.

“The winter will be very difficult, but we cannot let up, we must sustain our support. We must keep going until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace consistent with the UN Charter”, said US President Joe Biden. At the same time, the President reminded the allies that russia's success would cost the West more than the price of supporting Ukraine.

France hosted a conference on the “nuclear safety” clause of Ukraine’s Peace Formula as a preparatory stage for the second Peace Summit.

At the Ukraine Mine Action Conference, the Swiss government handed over the first of three specialized GCS 200 mine-clearing vehicles to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service.

Ukraine has concluded 28 bilateral agreements on humanitarian demining.

The World Bank has maintained its forecast of 3.2% GDP growth for Ukraine this year.

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The United States has announced sanctions against three legal entities and one individual involved in the production of long-range  “garpiya”  (“harpy”- Transl.) drones in China for the russian army. The new US restrictions include the Chinese companies Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine and Redlepus Vector Industry Shenzhen, the russian “vektor” trading house and its director and owner, artem yamshchikov.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that the Alliance is assisting neutral Moldova in countering russia's hybrid interference ahead of the presidential election and European integration referendum.

In the first half of October, almost all Chinese car brands represented on the russian market raised car prices again.

Residents of the russian city of irkutsk are demanding that the authorities bring electricity to homes in and around the city. They have stated that they have been waiting for years to be connected to the grid, although they have already paid for the service and have contracts in hand. The number of people affected is almost 4,000.

Authorities of irkutsk region have urged the population to ensure the “survivability” of their families on their own amid the problems with power supply in the region. Every russian is required to have a backup power source – a stove or a generator, said malinkin, the chief of the regional energy directorate of the ministry of housing and utilities.

More than half of the clients of russian non-resident banks provide false passport data, said groshikov, chief of the rosfinmonitoring department.

EU leaders have decided to tighten migration controls at the borders with the rb and the rf, according to the final statement of the migration summit. “The rf and the rb, or any other country, cannot abuse European values, the right to asylum included, by undermining our democracy. The European Council expressed solidarity with EU members facing these challenges. The document emphasizes that the European Union is ready to provide practical assistance to the countries bordering the rf and the rb in the fight against migrants in order to “stop the instrumentalization of migration for political purposes”. The decision to take specific practical measures to strengthen migration control will be made by the EU Council at the ministerial level.

The Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service has detained a record batch of smuggled cigarettes in cookie boxes on the border of the rb and Poland. The citizen of the rb claimed that he was transporting furniture to Western Europe in a Mercedes Benz truck. The value of the contraband was EUR 2.6 million.

According to the supreme court of the rb, in early October 2024, 371 cases related to bankruptcy proceedings were pending in the economic courts of the rb. In January, there were 72 fewer cases. Almost 97% (362 cases) concern private business. As of the beginning of 2024, 299 cases were pending in economic courts, including 252 cases involving private legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. 29 cases are being considered in relation to enterprises with a share of state ownership, which are significant for the country's economy and social sphere. Among them are the brest construction materials plant, the telekhany carpentry plant, the gomel fat plant, “amipak”, “remid”, etc.

According to Freedom House, the Viasna Human Rights Center and BELPOL, after Ukrainian children are taken from the territories temporarily occupied by russia to the rb, they are placed in groups of several dozen or hundreds in camps and rehabilitation centers for several weeks. Under the guise of rehabilitation, Ukrainian teenagers in the rb are told about the ideas of the “russian world”, re-educated and militarized. They have meetings with the military, security forces and propagandists. Classes are held in russian, propaganda narratives are broadcast, they are told about “Ukrainian collaborators” during World War II, and asked if they consider themselves russian citizens.