September 24, 2023 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Ukraine and Canada have signed an updated free trade agreement.

Since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion, Canada has provided Ukraine with almost $7.3 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid, and Canadian Armed Forces aircrafts have delivered more than 6,000 tons of military aid to Ukraine.

Canada will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth CAD 650 million (about USD 482.5 million) over the next three years: part of this amount will be used to build 50 armored vehicles and 50 ambulances. Canada will also join the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

The Czech Republic is negotiating with Sweden on the possibility of conducting training for Ukrainian pilots on Gripen fighter jets on its territory.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has pointed out that Ukraine's path to the EU will not be easy, as it is in a state of war and still has to carry out many reforms, but disputes between some Eastern European countries and Ukraine over grain exports will not hinder the accession process.

“russia's blocked foreign exchange assets should be used to reconstruct Ukraine”, said Governer of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said that her country supports the restriction of russia's veto power and demands reform of the UN Security Council.

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The government of Canada has announced the imposition of sanctions against 63 russian individuals and legal entities. According to Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, sanctioned persons “are involved in the illegal transfer and detention of Ukrainian children, generation and spread of disinformation and propaganda”, as well as the rf nuclear program.

In the ranking of countries in terms of economic freedom, the rf is 104th, between Nepal and Tanzania (as close as possible to the level of 1980, when, according to the rating of the Fraser Institute, the Soviet Union was in 107th place).

The European Court refused to lift sanctions against the chairman of the board of directors of severstal aleksei mordashov.

The introduction of an export duty of 4-7% pegged to the ruble exchange rate may affect 46% of agricultural exports of the rf, a deterioration in business is expected in the fishing industry, processing of rapeseed and soybeans, production of alcohol, nuts and legumes.

President of the all-russian association of fisheries zverev has pointed out that high duties will worsen the competitive opportunities of russian crabs, pollock and cod fillet in foreign markets.

head of the fish union panin has said that with the introduction of duties, companies can stop or significantly reduce the production of part of the low-profit types of seafood, the demand for which within the rf is insignificant.

kosarev, president of the union of alcohol producers, has said that due to the ban on the supply of russian vodka to many countries, alcohol exports from the rf have already decreased by 70%, and in new markets, such as India and China, significant investments in marketing are required. According to the union, the duty will be almost 17% of the cost of vodka, which will lead to a decrease in exports.

In pursuance of the resolution banning the export of petroleum products from russia, transneft has stopped the shipment of diesel fuel through pipelines in the ports of primorsk and novorossiysk. Experts say that another problem will soon arise: in one or two weeks, refineries will be overstocked with products, after which they will have to reduce production, which in turn will exacerbate the shortage of petrol.

The ministry of digital development, communications and mass media of the rf has admitted the inability to fully launch the unified register of military registration, which includes digital summonses, before 2025. The autumn conscription of conscripts to the armed forces of the rf will be held according to the previous rules - with paper summonses. For not showing up at the military commissariat, they will be fined 30 thousand rubles.

The EU has called on belarus to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, to stop supporting russia in the war and deportation of Ukrainian children.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif has pointed out that the human rights situation in belarus has not improved in the three years since the 2020 elections. She called to investigate into past human rights violations and bring those responsible to justice.

From the deficit budget, the minsk authorities plan to take even more funds to the national treasury. To do this, the city authorities increased the total amount of the city's expected revenues – from 8 billion 775.1 million rubles to 8 billion 792.5 million rubles, but at the same time they raised the expected expenses of the city – from 9 billion 497,6 million rubles to 9 billion 515 million rubles. Local businesses are already preparing for inspections and fines.

belarusian authorities are considering the possibility of introducing a mandatory distribution with referrals for university paying students and increasing the working period for state employees - this, according to their calculations, will allow them to “close” vacancies in the regions and keep young people in the country. For example, lukashenko has proposed to oblige students to work for free public education for seven years without the right to resign.

At a meeting on animal husbandry, lukashenko proposed to involve students of agricultural universities and schoolchildren from specialized classes in the work in case of a shortage of hands on farms. In his opinion, this would be a good practice for them.