September 22, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

The US Department of Defense has ordered $14.3 million worth of F-16 fighter jet maintenance equipment for Ukraine.

The US is preparing a $375 million package of military aid for Ukraine, which may be announced already next week.

The Darkstar Coalition has invested EUR 600 thousand in the Ukrainian-Estonian startup Farsight Vision, which improves situational awareness on the battlefield.

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The United States keeps increasing its presence near Alaska as tensions rise due to the rf’s and China’s intensification of military activities off the coast of the state.

In view of possible threats, Norway is introducing enhanced border security measures in the east of Finnmark province, where it shares a common border with the rf.

“russia is an authoritarian state that uses hostage diplomacy to release people important to it from prison. We have a recent example from early August. This is a real phenomenon, and the threat also concerns Finns in russia”, warns Petteri Lalu, a representative of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO).

The Supreme Election Commission of Lithuania has decided to withdraw two candidates from the Seimas elections who did not mention in their questionnaires that they had cooperated with the soviet kgb.

Heads of the EU Affairs Committees of Parliaments of Poland and Baltic states have pointed out that the European Union ought to stop importing liquefied natural gas from russia as soon as possible, otherwise the EU “remains dependent on a state that uses energy as a hybrid weapon and a means of manipulation”.

Due to international sanctions, the russian energy company “tatenergo” did not receive the most powerful gas turbine from General Electric and did not fulfill the demand of the russian government to modernize the Zainskaya combined cycle power plant.

By the end of the year, electronics in russia will rise in price by 10-15%. russians have to transfer money to intermediaries from China, which increases the cost of an order by at least 10%. And because payments are made in Chinese yuan, the total cost increases by another 2-3% during conversion.

The rf’s authorities have increased the income tax for businesses from 20% to 25% from January 1, 2025.

In 2022, the price of russian software for the rf’s users went up by more than 40%, and every year its cost increases by 15-20%.

70% of the russian companies surveyed reported corporate fraud, according to a recent study by the company “technologies of trust”. 64% of respondents reported misappropriation of assets, 50% reported fraud in the procurement of goods and services, and 43% reported cases of corruption and commercial bribery. An increase in financial losses of companies from fraud within their own business was reported by 56% of respondents.

In August, sales of premium new buildings in moscow decreased by 29.4% compared to August 2023, and by 19% in the deluxe segment. No deals for the sale of expensive housing were concluded in st. petersburg.

In August, the average cost of a new car in russia increased to 3.03 million rubles, according to the analytical agency “avtostart”.

The shortage of telecom professionals in russia is growing, including cable workers, optical fiber installers, adjusters, etc. The number of vacancies at mobile operators increased to 76%, and at fixed-line providers – to 106%.

By the end of the year, russian-made clothing will rise in price by 20%, as reported by the fashion factory school company after a survey of more than 150 russian retailers.

In August 2024, mandatory parental contributions to russian secondary schools increased by 23% on average, to RUB 3,408, as reported by t-bank.

Prosecutor General of Lithuania Nida Grunskienė has said that the country is considering the possibility of transferring to Ukraine 17 fire trucks from the rb that last year headed to Zimbabwe and were seized in Klaipeda under international sanctions.

In October, a group 1 disabled pensioner will be tried in vitebsk for promoting extremist activities. She took part in peaceful protests while sitting in a wheelchair, and in 2021 she was already fined 1,160 rubles under an article on violating the order or holding mass events. She now faces up to four years in prison or two to six years in a penal colony.