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

Sweden may finance part of a major deal that would see Ukraine purchase up to 150 Gripen fighter jets with military aid.

Ukraine has received EUR 73.7 million in EU grants for the development of the Sknyliv-Mostyska European gauge railway.

Ukraine and Norway have extended the “transport visa-free regime” for freight transport until March 2027.

The European Commission has adopted stricter rules for issuing visas to russian citizens due to increased security risks related to the russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the use of migration as a weapon, acts of sabotage, and potential abuse of the visa regime. russians will no longer be able to obtain multiple-entry visas to the EU; a separate visa will be required for each new trip. “It is our duty to protect our citizens. From now on, stricter rules will apply to russian citizens applying for visas to travel to the EU. Travel to the EU and free movement within the EU is a privilege, not something given by default,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

russian citizens will no longer be able to obtain multiple-entry Schengen visas. According to the European Commission’s decision, russians will now have to apply for a new visa each time they wish to enter the European Union. “Under the new provisions, all visa applications from russian citizens will be subject to enhanced verification procedures and a higher level of control, which will contribute to the integrity and security of the Schengen area,” said EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.

“We are already turning the tide on ammunition. Until recently, russia was producing more ammunition than all NATO Allies put together. But this is no longer the case. Across the Alliance, we are now opening dozens of new production lines and expanding existing ones. We are making more than we have done in decades,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He also guaranteed a “devastating” response in case of russia’s attempt to attack NATO territory.

Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson has said that EU countries should prepare for russia’s long-term isolation even after the war in Ukraine is over. He added that Sweden is not naive about russia and also stressed the need to strengthen deterrence and restrict the actions of the russian submarine fleet in the Baltic Sea.

Bundeswehr Inspector General Carsten Breuer has called russia’s war against Ukraine a “teacher” for his country. “russia should never think it can win a war against NATO, even against a single NATO member country,” Breuer stressed.

The port of Baku refused to work with “Lukoil”’s oil after US sanctions.

Serbia will not give guarantees that it will not join sanctions against russia, said President Aleksandar Vučić. Refusal to impose sanctions against russia is the main reason keeping Serbia from EU membership.

The Norwegian Seafarers’ Union has expressed concern about the number of captains of Norwegian ships who have russian citizenship. Union’s representative Terje Hernes Pettersen has said that 200 russian captains on Norwegian ships are “200 too many”.

The price of russian oil in Asian ports continues to fall after its main suppliers – “Rosneft” and “Lukoil” – found themselves under US sanctions, and refineries in India and China began to give up their shipments. Discounts on Urals crude – the main export brand of russian oil companies – have reached $4 per barrel, a record high for at least the last year. In recent weeks, the discount on Urals has doubled. The Far Eastern ESPO grade, purchased by Chinese refineries, is now also being sold at a discount to Brent, although it used to be more expensive.

Freight rates for sea transportation of coal from russia increased on a number of directions by the end of October. The cost of sea transportation of coal from russian ports to China, India, South Korea, and Turkey increased in the third week of October by 7.2 %, depending on the port and type of vessel.

In October 2025, russia reduced diesel fuel exports through seaports by about 4 % compared to September. Shipments of Euro-5 diesel fuel through the largest Baltic terminal in Primorsk decreased by 5.7 %.

The annual volume of shadow imports into russia through “cargo schemes” reaches $10-15 billion. The budget loses 200 to 400 billion rubles annually due to non-payment of customs duties and taxes. This mainly concerns mass-market goods from China – clothing, electronics, footwear, and household appliances – which are imported without documentation.

Following the increase in VAT to 22 %, the government of the rf plans to introduce a “technology fee” on the import and production of certain goods. The new tax will work similarly to the scrap tax on cars.

Also, following the tax reform for small businesses and the introduction of a new “technology fee” on imported goods, the rf’s government is preparing a sharp increase in state duties for businesses and intends to introduce new ones. From 2026, russia will increase the duty for registering all types of aircraft tenfold, increase the duty for granting licenses for the production and supply of alcohol by a third, and introduce additional duties for obtaining fsb licenses.

In russia, there is a continuing mass “dying out” of clothing and footwear retailers. In 2025, companies such as InCity, Deseo, Just Clothes, Bat Norton, I am Studio, Mellow, Inspire Girls, Orby, Yollo, and others closed or suspended their operations.

Consumption of metal in russia is expected to be by 14 % lower in 2025 than in 2024.

98 % of light industry companies in russia failed to confirm the existence of production at the addresses specified in the documents. There was no equipment, no personnel, no warehouses for raw materials or finished products – the declared locations were residential buildings, hotels, or waste land.

russians have sharply reduced their purchases of electronics: since the beginning of 2025, sales have fallen by an average of 10–15 % in rubles, excluding inflation. Sales of laptops in the first eight months of 2025 declined by 17.5 % year-on-year in monetary terms, of smartphones – by 18 %, and of TV sets – by almost 9 %. For large household appliances, the decline was about 5-6 % in the main categories and 4.5 % overall.

In russia, the number of complaints about unjustified blocking of bank accounts is growing.

“Uralvagonzavod”– russia’s largest manufacturer of railway cars and the main supplier of tanks to the army – is launching a large-scale wave of staff cuts. By February 2026, 10 % of the plant’s employees will be laid off. The company will also stop hiring new employees. For a number of departments, the scale of the cuts will be up to 50 % of the staff.

russian software developer Naumen laid off some of its employees in early November 2025.

The board of directors of aluminum giant “Rusal” has recommended not paying dividends for the first nine months of this year.

russia is considering introducing a 24-hour “cooling-off period” for mobile internet on domestic SIM cards if they have not been active for more than three days or if their owners have returned from international roaming. They want to do this to make it more difficult to use SIM cards in unmanned devices.

Five more regions in russia are planning to reduce the number of final exams for ninth formers in order to drive schoolchildren into vocational schools. The experiment of taking two exams instead of four will be extended to Moscow, Rostov, Tver, and Tyumen regions, as well as Tatarstan. Currently, this exam system is in place in moscow, St. Petersburg, and Lipetsk region.

In the Trans-Baikal Territory, due to a petrol shortage, the authorities have turned to the federal government for help. Currently, almost 40 % of oil refinery capacity in the rf is idle. By mid-October, the situation had worsened.

Traffic on the Far Eastern Railway in January-October decreased by 5.2 % compared to the same period last year. The decline was in the transportation of oil and petroleum products, forest products, industrial raw materials and molding materials, coal, and ferrous metals.

In russia, imports of dairy products will decline by 9 % this year.

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, russian tax inspectors conducted raids aimed at finding as many violations as possible among entrepreneurs. As a result, the tax authorities collected 987.5 million rubles.

The Foreign Policy Committee of Moldova’s Parliament of the XII convocation decided to suspend the activities of parliamentary friendship groups with russia and belarus for the duration of the war waged by the rf against Ukraine.

belarus’ piracy segment is showing growth: in the first half of 2025, its volume reached $794,000, having increased by 4.5 % year-on-year. Imperfect legal norms in the rb have essentially created a “free digital zone” for piracy of Western content.

During the school holidays in Mogilev, students were dressed in riot gear to disperse demonstrations. The school pointed out that the young “patriots” gained unique experience.