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

Japan will provide Ukraine with $6 billion in additional financial assistance in 2026.

Ukraine has received more than $125 million in funding from the World Bank to support education and healthcare.

“The aggressor (russia) must pay for everything, for all the losses and destruction. That is why, as you know, we have blocked russian assets for a long time. I am convinced that your (Ukraine’s) position regarding russia has now improved significantly. You have a strong advantage,” said Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk regarding the European Union’s decision to finance Ukraine in 2026-2027.

President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel has welcomed the EU leaders’ agreement on joint loan for Ukraine, but hinted that he would like his country to participate in this mechanism.

Minister of Defence of Czechia Jaromír Zuna has said he expects the initiative to supply Ukraine with artillery shells to continue.

Greece has become the 35th country to sign the convention establishing an International Claims Commission to consider claims for compensation of damages caused by russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Leader of the largest political group in the European Parliament – European People’s Party – Manfred Weber, believes that the EU will eventually be able to decide to use frozen russian assets to help Ukraine.

US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker believes that ending the war is the best scenario for both Ukraine and russia. “Peace is the best option, the best option for all parties. You know, russia is probably spending twice as much to continue this war. It’s a complete waste of money. What is happening is senseless,” Whitaker said.

The national energy regulators of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine have officially approved two new routes for transporting natural gas to Ukraine: Route 2 and Route 3. The company emphasizes that the regulators’ decision opens up new opportunities for stable gas supplies and strengthens the interconnection of gas systems in the region.

Ukraine is receiving repaired wind turbines and solar panels from the Netherlands to strengthen its energy supply amid russia’s ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul expects the USA to take Europe’s interests into account during the planned talks with russia in Florida on a peaceful resolution to the situation in Ukraine. “Only in this way can we reach an agreement that will be sustainable not only for Ukraine but also for Europe,” the Minister said.

“We are not concerned about the escalation of the conflict with russia over Venezuela. We have always expected them to provide rhetorical support for the Maduro regime... This is not a factor that influences our attitude to the whole situation,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) has stated that the pro-russian group Z-Pentest is responsible for “devastating and destructive” cyberattacks on a Danish water utility in 2024.

Prices for russian oil continue to decline sharply under pressure from US sanctions, which have disrupted the  established flows of raw material exports to India and China. On December 16, the price of Urals crude oil shipped from the port of Novorossiysk dropped to $34.52 per barrel – which is half the level at the beginning of the year. At the port of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea, russian oil companies’ main export brand was selling for $36.07 per barrel. Discounts on Urals reached $23-25 per barrel in Novorossiysk and $24 – in Baltic ports. Some batches of Urals that russia is trying to sell to China are being sold at a discount of up to $35 per barrel. This means a price below $30 – a record low since the pandemic. russian oil companies are forced to lower prices to sell batches that Indian refineries have refused to buy. russian oil is sold by 30 % and, in some cases, 50 % cheaper than Brent crude. As a result, the russian budget is losing billions of dollars every month due to sanctions.

The government of the rf has instructed the federal antimonopoly service to increase wholesale gas prices in russia by 9.6 % from October 1, 2026. The indexation of tariffs for gas transportation through distribution gas pipelines will be 11.6 % in 2026, 11.1 % – in 2027, and 7 % – in 2028.

Due to the increase in tariffs and value-added tax at the beginning of 2026, russia’s economy is expected to experience accelerated inflation, – warned Elvira Nabiullina, head of the Central Bank of the rf.

Ministry of finance of the rf has raised the minimum prices for strong alcohol. From January 1, 2026, the minimum retail price for vodka will increase to 409 rubles. From January 1, 2025, the minimum retail price for vodka was raised to 349 rubles per 0.5 litre, whereas previously it was 299 rubles.

The war against Ukraine, which has caused russia record losses since World War II, has turned out to be a “gold mine” for funeral companies, which are experiencing a business boom and revenue growth of tens of percents. The top five leaders in the russian funeral business earned 14.872 billion rubles in revenue in 2024, which is by 2.923 billion, or 24 %, more than a year earlier.

Secondary housing in moscow rose in price by 27 % over the year. Izhevsk (+16 %) ranked second in terms of price growth, followed by Kazan (+15 %) in third place. In St. Petersburg, the indicator rose by 14.7 %.

belarus has failed to meet its pension growth targets – to bring them to 40 % of the average salary. This is stated in the program of socio-economic development of the rb for 2026-2030.

lukashenko has said that import substitution, which belarus has been engaged in for 15 years, “is turning into import independence”. However, in reality, belarus is purchasing more and more goods abroad – from pasta and pork to potatoes and cigarette packaging. At this, the share of domestic products in stores continues to decrease. Their share in retail trade dropped to 54.9 % in January–September this year. For example, in the same period in 2022, this figure was 61.1 %, and in 2020, it was 60.7 %. The situation is even worse for non-food products: their share fell from 41.9 % in 2020 to 35.1 % this year.

Deputy prime minister for social affairs Natalia Petkevich has proposed “coding” belarusians using the “25th frame effect” to increase the birth rate.