Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

US President Donald Trump has announced his desire to increase military aid to Ukraine. The Pentagon has already begun supplying additional “defensive weapons” to Ukraine. “We will send more weapons. We have to do it. They have to be able to defend themselves,” the US President said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský has said that Germany has made one of the largest contributions to the Czech initiative to supply Ukraine with ammunition.

President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel has denied the russian narrative of russia’s victory in the war against Ukraine. He pointed out that Ukrainian defenders are successfully holding the front, including in difficult areas, and are inflicting huge losses on the enemy. “Ukraine can succeed only with the help of more advanced technologies and innovations, and this is exactly what they are doing,” said the President of Czechia.

The EU is looking for ways to cover Ukraine’s budget deficit of up to $19 billion next year. Minister of Economy of Denmark Stephanie Lose has confirmed that the EU is discussing this issue.

President of France Emmanuel Macron has said that support for Ukraine will be among the main topics of the Franco-British Summit in London.

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​​​​​​​The future of the EU-China relations will be determined by China’s attitude to russia’s war against Ukraine, as China’s support for the rf is unacceptable to the EU. This was stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham expects the Senate to promote a bipartisan bill on russian sanctions that would allow for tariffs against countries that support russia’s war.

The United Kingdom has updated the list of individuals sanctioned over the use of chemical weapons, having added two people and one organization from russia. The sanctions include the russian research institute of applied chemistry, as well as head of the radiological, chemical and biological defense troops Rtishchev and his deputy Marchenko.

Norway has added to its national sanctions list two russian fishing companies, “Norebo Holding” and “Murman Sea Food”, which were previously sanctioned by the European Union.

The port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, considered the largest in Europe, has begun reserving space for NATO ships carrying military cargo and planning routes for the transfer of weapons in preparation for a potential war with russia.

“...I am one of the European leaders who, sadly, believe that russia is ready to continue the war not only in Ukraine but also in other parts of Europe. That is why we must rearm,” emphasized Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has said that the result of russia’s war against Ukraine is a matter of existential importance for Lithuania’s security.

The rf’s budget deficit for the first half of the year amounted to 3.7 trillion rubles, or 1.7 % of GDP. In June, it increased by 300 billion rubles. The gap in the treasury is more than six times larger than it was in January-June 2024.

Growing problems in the civilian part of the economy require the russian authorities to support more and more industries, but the budget overloaded with military spending is not enough. “Given the budgetary constraints, the demand for support exceeds the budget’s capacity,” said minister of industry and trade Alikhanov.

Potential long-term losses of the russian economy from sanctions imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine could reach 7–14 % of GDP, or about $350 billion.

As of mid-2025, more than 24,000 russian citizens and companies were on various sanctions lists.

Sea-borne exports of coking coal from russia declined to multi-month lows in June, while shipments from southern ports stopped altogether. In June, russia exported 2.23 million tons of coking coal from its ports, down by 23 % from May this year and by 35 % from June last year.

The rf’s government is preparing to introduce an out-of-court procedure for collecting tax debts from russians starting in November this year. The tax authorities will send a demand for payment of the debt to a person, and if the citizen fails to pay, the inspectorate will make a decision on recovery. At first, the money will be debited from bank accounts, and if it is not enough, bailiffs will be involved to collect from property. The ministry of finance expects that the change in the collection procedure will bring additional 22.5 billion rubles to the budget system.

In the first half of 2025, the number of commercial organizations in russia registered as newly established in the state register of the rf was by 23.4 % less than in the first half of 2024 –87.2 thousand. 12.8 thousand of them were commercial organizations that ceased operations due to the companies’ decision to liquidate. There are 2,667 such companies that have been liquidated through bankruptcy.

russian private space industry is collapsing. The federal tax service has initiated bankruptcy proceedings against “SR Space” JSC, which was called the “Starlink killer” by russian media. The company’s accounts have been blocked in four banking institutions by the tax authorities. In case of bankruptcy, “SR Space” will become the fourth private space enterprise in russia to fail. Prior to that, the same fate befell such pioneers of russian private space exploration as Dauria Aerospace, “CosmoKurs” and S7 Space.

The rf has authorized clear-cutting of trees in specially protected areas around Lake Baikal. Environmentalists have already voiced their warnings: the more clear-cutting near Lake Baikal, the more clay, sand and nutrients will be washed into the lake, causing damage to aquatic biological resources.

In 2024, the federal financial monitoring service included more than 3.1 thousand individuals and 80 organizations in the list of terrorists and extremists, and froze their assets worth a total of 245 million rubles. As of December 31, 2024, the list included more than 16 thousand individuals and more than 800 organizations.

The investigative committee of the rf has reported a 10 % increase in crimes committed by migrants in russia in the first five months of this year, with more than 12 thousand foreigners breaking the law.

The first offers of organized tours to Afghanistan have appeared in russia. A trip lasting 8 days and 7 nights will cost an average of $3,000. Prior to this, the rf was the first country in the world to officially recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – a state entity run by the radical Taliban movement.

All objects in the rf related to the memory of Lenin should be under state protection. This follows from the draft law submitted by the communist party of the rf to the state duma. In the explanatory note to the draft, the communists recall the “example of Ukraine,” where the elimination of Lenin monuments was “the beginning of a neo-Nazi coup and outright russophobia”. And the “blackening of the memory” of the soviet leader “is used by unfriendly states and anti-russian political forces to discredit the rf”.

The European Union “takes into consideration” the recent release of a number of belarusian political prisoners, said Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Anitta Hipper. “We continue to call on the lukashenko regime to release all arbitrarily detained persons, especially those in life-threatening conditions. Arrests, repression and human rights violations must stop,” she said.

lukashenko’s regime illegally auctioned off the house of political prisoner Vasyl Demydovych, 73, who has been tried at least 9 times in political criminal cases. The house was subject to a ban on registration actions issued by a bailiff. This, however, did not save it from being sold at auction.

belarus is massively detaining people under the so-called people’s article 342 of the criminal code (organizing or participating in actions that grossly violate public order), who were featured in a Polish documentary about the 2020 protests, which shows the unblurred faces of the protesters.

The ministry of agriculture and food of belarus has reduced the minimum export prices for a number of dairy products for all markets except for the rf’s.

Sales of new passenger cars continue to decline in belarus. In June, 3,841 units were sold. This is by 13 % fewer than in the same period in 2024. The car market has been stagnating since April this year.

Amid the decline in the number of goats, lukashenko has called for the development of goat breeding and doubling the figures in 2026. On farms of all categories, the total number of goats decreased from 57.6 thousand in early 2020 to 48 thousand in early 2025 (-16.7 %). At the same time, the number of goats in villagers’ (farmers’) households decreased by 33.3 %.

The number of individual entrepreneurs in the rb is declining at a record pace. In 2024, their number decreased by almost 15 thousand people.

The shortage of personnel continues to grow in belarus. As of the beginning of July, the country needs almost 215.5 thousand workers. The problem with the shortage of workers in the rb has not been resolved for several years. The reasons include the professionals’ leaving for abroad to work there and dismissals due to “politics”.