October 31, 2023 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

After the meeting in Malta, the European Commission reaffirmed its support for Ukraine's Peace Formula.

Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo believes that negotiations between Ukraine and the European Union on membership can begin in December.

In the long term, world-class British defence enterprises can become part of Ukraine's industrial complex, said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State (Indo-Pacific) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in Lviv region has received four specialized vehicles, a fire tanker and a ladder truck from the Austrian government and the community of Vienna.

President Petr Pavel has said that Prague supports the reform of the UN.

Lithuania is going to ban professional military personnel from traveling to countries that pose a threat to the country's national security.

Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz has said his country is seeking to import natural gas from Nigeria.

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The District Court of Larnaca (Cyprus) refused to release on bail russian citizen artur petrov, arrested at the request of the United States, who is accused of illegally exporting microelectronics produced in the United States to the rf.

The United States has refused to allow russian “diplomats” to participate in the opening ceremony of the monument to St. John of Kronstadt in San Diego (California).

Interior Minister of France Gérald Darmanin has said that the deportation of 39 russians who are “adherents of radical Islam” will begin in the near future.

The Prosecutor's Office of Latvia has charged six russian residents for their role in the organization “anti-fascists of the baltics”, which was actually engaged in intelligence work for the kremlin.

British bank HSBC will complete the procedure of exiting from the russian market in the first half of 2024.

“We continue to put pressure on banks to reduce their activities and possibly exit the market”, said Andrea Enria, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank.

Janis Sarts, Director of NATO's Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, believes that the riots at dagestan makhachkala airport are the result of inciting hatred by russian propaganda.

The revenue of the russian lukoil for the first nine months of this year decreased by 11.6%, to 2.06 trillion rubles, the cost of sales – by 8%, to 1.3 trillion rubles. Gross profit decreased by 17.1%, to 753.47 billion rubles. lukoil's profit under ras (russian accounting standards) for nine months decreased by 1.5% (to 638.575 billion rubles).

In russia, in the third quarter, 87% of public procurement tenders for human medical albumin (a blood plasma medicine used in emergency medical care) did not take place. Distributors are in no hurry to participate in the auction due to the low marginal price, which makes the supply unprofitable. Against this background, seven russian manufacturers of human medical albumin increased the cost of the medicine by 11-59% in October 2023.

central bank’s raising the key rate to 15% (it was 8.5% back in July) is forcing russian companies to abandon new projects due to too expensive loans. In the context of the russian crisis, if the key rate is 15%, it means that financial institutions provide loans at 20%, and for enterprises in which banks see high risks, the rates will be even higher – 20-25%. Companies do not take loans because the cost of the loan is higher than what the companies will earn.

Raising the key rate to 15% will have a significant impact on russians’ mortgage and consumer lending. Standard mortgage loans, even before the rate increase, were quite expensive for the population of the rf (almost 15%), but now they will become unaffordable.

Authorities of the rf are toughening control over business: the government has submitted to the state duma amendments to the law on currency regulation and control, which provide for the expansion of the powers of the bank of russia to control the assets and liabilities of russian exporters.

Due to the losses caused as a result of sanctions to the sponsors of the russian olympic committee (roc), the financing of sports programs in the amount of more than 3.5 billion rubles was stopped in the rf, said the general director of the roc vladimir sengleev.

In moscow, over the past week, several conscripts for military service have escaped from collection points. This is happening against the background of military commissariats’ active raids against conscripts.

The first deputy secretary of state of the security council of the republic of belarus muraveiko threatening to “break through the corridor” for the transit of belarusian goods through Lithuania shows that the restrictions imposed against minsk have an impact on the economic and financial results of the state budget of belarus, said Petras Auštrevičius, a Member of the European Parliament from Lithuania and Permanent Rapporteur on belarus.

belarus will contribute to the budget of the shanghai cooperation organization 5.8 % of the total size of that budget. This is the lowest percentage of contributions of all participants. For this, the rb will receive four full-time positions in the permanent bodies of the sco: two in the secretariat and two in the executive committee of the regional anti-terrorist structure of the sco. China and russia contribute the most to the organization's fund – 20.6% each.

According to belstat, the profitability of sales of belarusian trade organizations has more than halved over the year. In January-August, it was 1.6% against 3.5% a year earlier. The report includes organizations with the main type of activity “Wholesale and retail trade; repair of cars and motorcycles”.

minsk region lacks dozens of heads of state organizations and enterprises. At the moment, 41 institutions are without main chiefs. Leaders are also needed in other regions of the country. According to the database of the state employment service, there is a shortage of more than 650 directors and their deputies in belarus.