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

The government of Italy has approved its 12th package of military aid to Ukraine.

Ireland will provide Ukraine with EUR 100 million to counter russian combined attacks, as well as EUR 25 million for energy supplies.

The government of Sweden has announced a new civil aid package for Ukraine worth more than SEK 1.1 billion (EUR 100 million) to meet the most urgent needs for rebuilding and strengthening the country’s resilience.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that in 2025, the amount of funds allocated for the purchase of weapons in the USA for Ukraine will reach $5 billion, and next year he expects another $12 billion. He has also pointed out that on December 3, at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Alliance member states will consider further support for our country.

The Netherlands has officially launched a mission to protect a key logistics hub in Poland, through which military aid from NATO countries is delivered to Ukraine, by deploying Patriot and NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems.

Japan will provide Ukraine with $27 million worth of equipment for demining, treating defenders, and teaching children about safe behavior. So far, Tokyo has provided our country with more than $60 million in humanitarian demining equipment and supplies.

On December 3, the European Commission plans to send member states an official proposal on how to formalize a “reparations loan” for Ukraine.

President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs does not see so far russia’s wish to achieve a compromise to end the war in Ukraine.

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“There are no independent anti-corruption bodies (in russia), no independent judiciary. If all the money goes to the war and there is no one to report to, that is how that system functions. The system in Ukraine works differently. The system in France works differently. But russia is a real dictatorship,” said President of France Emmanuel Macron.

Amid tightening Western sanctions, Türkiye reduced its imports of russia’s Urals oil in November by a third compared to October.

The Wise payment service has informed users from russia and belarus that their cards will be temporarily blocked until they confirm their citizenship or residence permit in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

russian owners of Porsche have faced vehicle immobilization via satellite.

This year, russians are expected to pay 305 billion rubles in interest tax on bank deposits to the budget. This is almost three times more than in 2024.

russia has seen a sharp decline in purchases of vaccines against diseases included in the National Preventive Vaccination Calendar, which are mandatory for children and adolescents. In the first half of 2025, the value of tenders announced for such medicines decreased 6.5 times –from 41.6 billion to 6.4 billion rubles.

russia may be overwhelmed by a wave of bankruptcies and pharmacy closures, especially outside major cities, as a result of the approved by the government increase in the tax burden on businesses from 2026.

russia’s government plans to raise electricity prices across the country to resolve the financial problems of energy distribution companies in the North Caucasus, which for years have been facing massive consumer non-payments and theft of kilowatt-hours. At present, the debt of guaranteed suppliers in the North Caucasus has reached 63.8 billion rubles. This is about 90 % of the total debt for electricity in the country.

The increase in VAT from 20 % to 22 % will be “imperceptible” for russians. This was stated by minister of finance of the rf Anton Siluanov. In reality, the burden of paying the additional tax liabilities will fall on the population. Citizens will have to pay 1.23 trillion rubles out of their own pockets in the form of increased prices for all goods and services in the country. As a result, the cost of current consumption by citizens will increase, and inflation will accelerate.

According to president-chairman of VTB Andrey Kostin, the tax increase in 2026, which the government is launching to increase budget revenues, may have the opposite effect.

The costs of russian manufacturers have grown at the fastest pace since May this year. Against the background of rising purchase prices, companies are again raising their selling prices – the rate of price increases is the highest since March.

Peak consumer price growth is expected in russia as early as the first quarter of 2026, and russians have been urged to prepare for a sharp jump in inflation. Since the beginning of November, prices in russia have risen by 0.4 %, by 0.14 % within a week, and by 5.23 % since January 1, 2025. In the food segment, prices have risen by 0.16 % within a week, and excluding fruit and vegetables, which have risen by 1.3 %, – by 0.06 %. Non-food products have  in price by 0.08 % over the week. Clothing and footwear have risen in price by 0.1 % and 0.2 %, respectively.

Sales of petroleum products on the St. Petersburg Exchange in November 2025 amounted to 2.804 million tons, which is by 10.5 % less than in the same month last year. Turnover in monetary terms decreased by 8.6 % compared to November 2024 – to 177.07 billion rubles. 734 thousand tons of petrol were sold, which is by 18.1 % less than in November 2024. Sales of AI-92 amounted to 433 thousand tons (-22.2 %), of AI-95 – to 297 thousand tons (-11.4 %). In November, 1.529 million tons of diesel fuel were sold, which is by 8 % lower than the sales level in November 2024.

More and more russia’s regions are experiencing disruptions in WhatsApp service. Complaints about the messenger not working are coming in from Magadan, Novosibirsk, and Smolensk regions, the republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Yakutia, and other regions. Residents of Leningrad, Novgorod, and other regions have also encountered problems sending messages.

The French association Fédération internationale pour les droits humains (International Federation for Human Rights) has been added to the list of undesirable organizations in the rf.

The European Union is developing further sanctions against the belarusian regime due to the situation with weather balloons on the belarusian-Lithuanian border. This was announced by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Prime Minister of Lithuania Inga Rūginienė has said that her country may close the border with belarus again if smuggling by air balloons continues.

Norway will allocate additional funds to support the repressed in belarus. They will go to the International Humanitarian Fund. Last year, Norway provided the fund with EUR 850,00.

In the rb, the negative trade balance with countries outside the CIS has exceeded $7.4 billion.