July 5, 2025 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

Germany is considering the possibility of concluding an agreement with the United States on the supply of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen has said that the European Union states should provide financial support to Ukraine’s defense industry to increase the production of weapons and ammunition.

Secret services of the Netherlands have collected evidence of russia’s large-scale use of banned chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine. “We must increase the pressure even more. This means considering additional sanctions and, in particular, preventing them (russia) from participating in international bodies,” said Minister of Defence of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans.

Commenting on the rf’s massive attack on Ukraine, US Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has called for putin to be stopped and for Ukraine to be provided with the necessary means for defense. “Armed with cheap iranian and north korean weapons, putin enjoys bombing sleeping families and will continue his imperialist perversions until he is stopped,” the Congressman summarized.

“This is Kyiv right now. I will not stop until the bombs stop. Many Ukrainians fall abandoned by the world. This is not God’s will. putin, you cannot be a Christian and do this to other Christians, Jews, & Muslims. The world must not be silent. This is about humanity, not political power,”said Pastor Mark Burns, spiritual advisor to US President Donald Trump.

“This morning, Kyiv is filled with smoke after Ukraine experienced another night of aerial terror from russia. Destroyed homes. Casualties across the country. putin is trying to force a sovereign nation into submission. The United Kingdom remains unwavering in its support for Ukraine,” said Charlotte Surén, Charge d’Affaires of the United Kingdom to Ukraine, after russia’s massive attack on Ukrainian cities.

“Yesterday, we saw russia launch one of the largest attacks since the beginning of its military aggression, deploying 530 missiles and drones. Such massive attacks once again confirm that russia is not seeking a ceasefire or an end to its military aggression,” said Spokesperson for the European Commission Anitta Hipper.

Ukraine will receive EUR 76 million in EU funding for the construction of a European railway from Lviv to the border with Poland.

The European Union has increased its import quota for Ukrainian wheat from one million metric tons to 1.3 million as part of the revision of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs of the FRG Johann Wadephul has expressed hope that China will not help russia to conduct large-scale aggression against Ukraine.

The Security and Information Service of Czechia will investigate Czech companies that may have exported equipment to russia for weapons manufacturing.

russian authorities are speeding up the sale of foreign currency from the National Welfare Fund to compensate for the failure of oil and gas revenues, which declined by 34 % in June and have rolled back to their lowest levels since January 2023. From July 7 to August 6, the Central Bank will sell 9.8 billion rubles worth of yuan on the exchange for the benefit of the ministry of finance. Compared to June, the volume of such operations will increase by a third, or by 2.5 billion rubles daily. This is the second time since the beginning of this year that the ministry of finance has been forced to sell off the NWF to close the budget deficit, as the price of russian Urals oil remains below the $60 cutoff for the budget rule. In May, it declined to $52.08, and in June it was $59.84. At the beginning of the month, the NWF had 4.1 trillion rubles in liquid assets. At the current rate of spending, the NWF’s reserves will be completely sold out in 14 months. If oil declines to $50 due to a sharp increase in OPEC+ production, the Fund will be exhausted even faster, which will require budget cuts that inevitably will be followed by a recession in the economy.

The russian citizens’ last cards of the leading international payment systems Visa and Mastercard, issued by russian banks before the war, will be disconnected. The Central Bank of the rf will limit the validity of cards and payment systems that are not included in its register.

The Association of European Businesses, which keeps statistics on sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in russia, has revised its forecast for 2025 downward. The new forecast envisages a 24 % decline to 1.25 million units. In January, the association expected the market to decline by 15 % to 1.4 million vehicles.

Thousands of foreign cars imported to russia under parallel import schemes have been listed in the Interpol database.

Employees of KamAZ plants in Naberezhnye Chelny have been banned from bringing food from deliveries and shops. The exception is containers with home-cooked food for personal consumption. The decision was made for reasons of “biological and chemical safety” to prevent “mass poisoning” of employees “given the political situation and the likelihood of sabotage” amid the war in Ukraine. The ban also applies to industrial goods, except for those necessary for the performance of official duties.

Retail trade in St. Petersburg continues to slow down. In May 2025, its volume amounted to 249.9 billion rubles, which is by 2.7 % less than in the same period last year at comparable prices. russians are saving on large purchases, preferring to keep their free money in bank deposits.

The total free supply in the warehouse market of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region will reach 660 thousand square metres by the end of 2025, which is about 12 % of the total market. The expected increase in supply by the end of the year is due to a cooling in the activity of marketplaces and representatives of other sectors of the economy amid a high key rate.

The problem of the shortage of doctors and nurses in russia is to be resolved by inviting tens of thousands of healthcare workers from Cuba.

russians have named uncertainty about financial capabilities and the country’s economic situation as the main factors hindering the birth of their first and subsequent children.

Sinicization of russia continues – Chinese-speaking nannies have pushed aside French-speaking ones and taken second place in the families of wealthy russians.

The state antivirus service Multiscanner, which detects malware in files uploaded to state information systems in the rf, has ceased operations due to lack of funding. Its creation was envisaged by the national program “Digital Economy”.

russia is facing a shortage of vegetable seeds due to the ban on the supply of planting material from the Netherlands, as agricultural producers have no idea how to “quickly replace the entire vegetable group with imports”.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže has said that the release of several political prisoners is not sufficient evidence of serious changes in the policy of belarusian authorities. The Latvian Foreign Minister has reminded that “belarus allows russia to wage war in Ukraine”, “russian troops are marching on its territory”, and that “russia has fully involved belarus in the preparation of the ‘Zapad’ exercise”.

Since the beginning of the year, the rb has recorded more than 1,700 “political” detentions. To date, more than 7,116 people have been convicted in politically motivated criminal cases since 2020. Of those, 33 people have been sent for compulsory psychiatric treatment.

Libyans are ready to build mosques in belarus, Dr. Osama Hamad, the head of the Libyan Government of National Stability said in Minsk. Libyan students’ studying in the rb, while belarus’ own young people are fleeing the country running away from the regime, imposes an additional burden of religious support.