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

US President Donald Trump has stated that he does not rule out visiting Ukraine if it helps reach a peace agreement.

“He (Trump) wants to end russia’s war against Ukraine. He is the only one who was able to get putin to sit down at the negotiating table, and the only one who will ultimately be able to force him to make peace,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“...There has been noticeable progress, which we welcome,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen commented on the results of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump on ending russia’s war against Ukraine. She stressed that “Europe is ready to continue working with Ukraine and our US partners to consolidate this progress.”

“Now russia must show that they really want to stop this war and that they want to seriously negotiate a just and lasting peace. The Netherlands continues to support Ukraine in its fighting russia’s aggression,” Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof commented on the results of the meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine and the United States.

“I welcome the progress in Ukraine peace talks that Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy spoke of this evening in Florida. I firmly hope that this will be built on in the time ahead to enable a ceasefire to take place,” said Prime Minister of Ireland Micheál Martin.

“I am glad that the world is finally moving towards a diplomatic solution, which is also supported by the Czech government,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Petr Macinka.

“Today’s conversation demonstrates that all agreements on peace and security in the region must be reached between all interested parties. The determination of the American side and the unity of the European countries’ position give a real chance to end the war caused by the rf,” said President of Poland Karol Nawrocki.

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk believes that the peace talks in the war between russia and Ukraine are far from over, but russia cannot be allowed to dictate the terms of peace. According to him, the Western world and Ukraine will lose if russia succeeds in dividing democratic countries and imposing its own terms of peace.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna has spoken in favor of increasing pressure on russia to force it into serious negotiations.

“Berlin welcomes US President Trump’s commitment to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine that preserves Ukrainian sovereignty and European security. At the same time, it is absolutely clear that it is up to moscow to end this war. Without russia, peace is impossible... It is russia that must demonstrate its willingness to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” said Deputy Spokesperson for the Federal Government of Germany Sebastian Gille.

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russia really sees a threat in Europe’s rearmament and is worried about it, so it’s trying to slow things down. This was stated by Director General of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Estonia Kaupo Rosin.

In December 2025, russia’s manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest pace since March 2022 amid a sharp decline in output and new orders. The business activity index for russian industry fell to 48.1 in December from 48.3 in November. This is the seventh consecutive month of decline. An index value below 50 indicates a decline in business activity, while a value above 50 indicates growth.

In 2025, budget expenditures exceeded revenues in most russian regions. This situation has arisen for the first time in at least 10 years. According to the results of the first 10 months of this year, budget expenditures exceeded revenues in 43 regions (out of 83). In 49 regions, real budget revenues, adjusted for inflation, were lower than in the same period a year earlier. The regional budget deficit amounted to 161 billion rubles. In 2024, the regions had a surplus of 880 billion rubles, while in 2021–2023 – more than 1 trillion. The worst situation is in Tyumen region (budget deficit of 51 billion rubles), Komi Republic (49 billion), and Kemerovo region (47 billion).

In 2024, most russian billionaires either participated in supplying the army or benefited from russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On the eve of the New Year, russian regional authorities once again began canceling or restricting holiday events in connection with the war against Ukraine. Most events were canceled in Khakassia, Tyva, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Chuvashia, Vologda, Saratov, and Leningrad regions, the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, as well as in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Electronics in russia will become significantly more expensive in 2026, with the strongest growth affecting new models of laptops and computers with large memory capacities: price increases for these items could reach 30–40 %. Smartphones will soar in price by 10-20 %, and electronics in general may rise in price by 20-30 %. One should not expect a decrease in prices for components, as due to the shortage, RAM may either remain in the same price range or rise in price by 10 %.

In russia, companies that manage apartment buildings, repair common property, and supply resources to buildings are now required by law to use the MAХ messenger. Only moscow has been granted an exception – information exchange with residents is allowed to be carried out using regional information systems.

The well-known Altai region enterprise “Kulundakonservmoloko” now operates only as a milk collection point and does not produce dry milk. The reason is a too high competition from belarusian companies. The controversy surrounding the plant arose after the owner wanted to close it due to difficulties in purchasing milk. The workers’ concerns and the authorities’ intervention stopped this process. However, the owner later decided to reduce production volumes.

Latvia has again extended restrictions on the use of airspace near the country’s eastern borders.

belarus became the main importer of russian pasta in January-October this year. belarus purchased more than $59 million worth of this product from russia. This is almost a third of russia’s total pasta exports. belarus was also the top market for other products from russia in 2025. These include herring fillets, pelmeni and other frozen semi-finished products in dough with filling, pork, lard, ice cream, chocolate products, waffles, caviar, mushrooms, packaged milk and cream, mayonnaise, etc.

belarus continues to experience a shortage of workers – as of December 29, employers need 161,300 workers.

In belarus, income tax for certain groups of the population will increase to 30 % from January 1, 2026.

At least 1,254 people were convicted in political criminal cases in belarus in 2025.

Robert Bosch, one of Germany’s top 10 industrial conglomerates and one of the oldest and most loyal foreign investors until recently, is closing its business in belarus. The company sees no prospects for the belarusian market.