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

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that the European Union will soon approve a new, 19th package of sanctions against russia and discuss how to best use russia’s frozen assets to provide military support to Ukraine and restore the country. “I am outraged by the attack on Kyiv, also hitting our EU office. It shows that the kremlin will stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine, blindly killing civilians – men, women and children and even targeting the European Union,” emphasized von der Leyen.

“The overnight attack on Kyiv shows a deliberate choice to escalate and mock the peace efforts. russia must stop the killing and negotiate”, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

European Union’s Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova has said that the massive shelling of Kyiv on the night of August 28 is russia’s true answer to peace efforts aimed at ending the war. According to her, the rf deliberately targeted a building located next to the European Union’s representative office in Ukraine.

In 2024, Germany exported EUR 8.15 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine.

“We do not want Ukraine to capitulate. Such a capitulation would only give russia time, and putin would use that time to prepare for the next war,” said Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul believes that russia’s attack on Kyiv on the night of August 28 cannot be left without a response.

“During the latest missile strikes on Kyiv, the EU delegation’s office was also damaged—this is an unacceptable attack on a diplomatic institution. russia is deliberately terrorizing the civilian population, violating international law, and committing war crimes,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria Beate Meinl-Reisinger.

“The only language putin understands is pressure. This means tougher sanctions and unwavering military support for Ukraine,” said Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, commenting on russia’s massive air strike on Kyiv on the night of August 28.

“My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

President of Switzerland Karin Keller-Sutter has said her country will invest 100 million Swiss francs ($124.7 million) to support 12 projects to be implemented by Swiss companies as part of Ukraine’s recovery in the spheres of infrastructure, public transport, healthcare, and humanitarian mine clearing.

rf

The European Union is considering using secondary sanctions for the first time against third countries that help moscow circumvent restrictions. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU will meet in Copenhagen at the end of this week. They are expected to discuss the use of the so-called sanctions circumvention tool, adopted in 2023 but not used yet. This mechanism allows for the prohibition of the export, supply, or transfer of certain goods to countries that help russia circumvent the sanctions regime.

The import duties imposed by Donald Trump on India could cost it much more than it saved by buying russian oil at a discount in less than a year. Before putin launched a full-scale war, India actually did not buy oil from russia – supplies accounted for less than 1 % of Indian oil imports. But since Western countries  imposed sanctions and a price cap on russian oil, it began to be sold at a discount, which is now about 7 % to major global grades such as Brent. As a result, India has saved about $17 billion in 3.5 years. But Trump’s introduction of a 50 % tariff on goods from India could reduce its exports by more than 40 %, or nearly $37 billion.

White House Senior Trade Advisor Peter Navarro believes it is necessary to increase pressure on India to make it stop buying russian oil and thus helping putin finance the war in Ukraine.

In the USA, 62 % of respondents support sanctions against russia’s trading partners.

russia’s military spending in the first half of 2025 set a new absolute record of 8.484 trillion rubles. Compared to the same period last year, spending on the army and weapons production increased by 31 %; compared to January–June 2023, it increased by 95 %, and compared to the first year of the war, it tripled. On average, the “war machine” consumed 1.4 trillion rubles per month and 46.9 billion rubles per day – an amount that exceeds the annual budgets of poor russian regions (28.8 billion rubles in Kalmykia, 30.5 billion rubles in Karachay-Cherkessia, and 42.7 billion rubles in the Altai Republic).

S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation “Energia”, the main enterprise of Roscosmos, founded by Sergei Korolev, which developed all the key Soviet launch vehicles, including the “Vostok” and “Soyuz”, which are still flying, is on the verge of collapse and may be closed. This was announced in a memo to employees by CEO Igor Maltsev. “The situation is critical: multimillion-dollar debts and interest payments are consuming the budget, processes are inefficient, and a large portion of the workforce has lost motivation and a sense of shared responsibility”, Maltsev said in his message.

In July 2025, producer prices for petrol in russia rose by 13.8 % compared to June. In June, the increase was 7.5 %, and in May, it was 10.5 %. Petrol grades AI-81 to AI-92 rose in price by 20.3 %, AI-93 to AI-95 – by 22 %, and AI-96 to AI-98 – by 15 %. Prices for petrol grades AI-98 and above increased by 10.3 %.

In the first half of the year, Gazprombank’s net profit decreased by 67 %, while Gazprom Neft’s net profit decreased by 54.2 %.

The net profit of the “Astra” Group (a leading russian developer of infrastructure software) decreased by 53 % in the first half of 2025. All of the Group’s software products are included in the rf’s ministry of digital development, communications and mass media’s register and are used in state and commercial organizations, state corporations, and concerns.

russian mining and metallurgical company “Mechel” reported a half-year loss of 40.5 billion roubles.

Developers have sharply reduced their investments in real estate in 2025. While in 2021–2022 they accounted for more than 50 % of the transaction volume, in 2025 they accounted for only 30 %.

One in ten schools in St. Petersburg was built more than 100 years ago.

 According to the International Biathlon Union (IBU)’s statement, russian biathletes will not be able to participate in the selection process for the 2026 Winter Olympics

Employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) will be required to defend and strengthen “spiritual and moral values” and preserve historical memory. This follows from the draft Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for FSIN employees. At the same time, employees of the penal system will be required to counteract destructive ideological influences. According to the document, the latter refers to “the cultivation of selfishness, permissiveness, and immorality; the rejection of the ideals of patriotism, service to the motherland, the natural continuation of life, the value of a strong family, marriage, large families, creative work, and russia’s positive contribution to world history and culture; the destruction of the traditional family through the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships”. Employees who violate these rules will be subject to “moral condemnation”.

russia has published a book entitled “How to Defeat Israel” by Yahya Sinwar, former head of HAMAS' military wing and organizer of the October 7 terrorist attack that brutally killed 1,200 civilians. The description of the russian edition states that its author is “one of the most prominent Arab military leaders of the new century”.

At the meeting in Mogilev region dedicated to the development of potato farming, lukashenko stated that he does not seek to rule the country with authoritarian methods, but “so far, it has not worked out”. The dictator has been in power since 1994.

At the meeting, lukashenko also threatened retail chains with “dire consequences” for the lack of “high-quality, affordable domestic potatoes” on store shelves.

lukashenko demands from former McDonald’s restaurants not to serve “American yuk”. “From October 1, there should not be a single piece of imported potatoes. Or meat balls. There should only be belarusian food. Why are you feeding people this American yuk?” said lukashenko.