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

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that work “on packages of proposals for Ukraine in the spheres of security and prosperity is progressing well.” In her words, the EU is “actively preparing the future of Ukraine as of a modern, sovereign, and free country.” “This is a powerful signal to our brave neighbor and partner in difficult times,” emphasized the President of the European Commission.

The European Union and the United States are close to an agreement on a “prosperity plan” for Ukraine, which is based on five pillars: productivity, Ukraine’s integration into the EU market, investment, donors, and reforms.

US President Donald Trump has supported the idea of creating a free trade zone with Ukraine.

Ukraine will receive 65 Commando Select armored vehicles as part of a $163.4 million contract with the American company Textron Systems.

“The European Commission is today deploying 447 emergency generators worth EUR 3.7 million from the EU’s strategic reserves to restore power to hospitals, shelters, and critical services (in Ukraine),” the European Commission’s press service said in a statement. In total, since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, the EU has sent about 10,000 generators to Ukraine through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

In the coming days, Ukraine will receive 379 power generators and 18 heaters from Poland’s Government Agency for Strategic Reserves.

“France will provide Ukraine with the equivalent of 13 megawatts of electricity and about a hundred generators to provide energy support to cities and regions where infrastructure has been destroyed. This aid will add to the support provided by other countries,” said Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Lithuania will provide Ukraine with generators worth EUR 2 million.

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The European Union has allocated the first EUR 10 million for the functioning of a special tribunal on russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine, which is being created  under the auspices of the Council of Europe.

Indian oil companies are increasing oil purchases from Angola, Brazil, and the UAE to replace russian oil and achieve lower US customs tariffs.

The loss of export markets due to sanctions, weak market conditions, payment problems, narrow infrastructure, and other reasons have led to a crisis in the rf’s coal industry, which employs more than 150,000 people.

From January to September 2025, retail sales of butter in russia fell by 12% compared to the same period last year. russians began to save more often, refusing to buy butter or reducing the amount they purchased.

In December 2025, demand for consumer loans in russia fell by approximately 37% compared to December of the previous year. The situation in the lending segment began to change in the spring. In May, the market finally shifted to a decline, with the number of applications by 6% lower than a year earlier. This was the first sign that effective demand was beginning to dry up. High interest rates and growing debt burdens increasingly limited borrowers’ options, especially in the unsecured consumer loan segment.

russia is experiencing a shortage of an imported medicine for rheumatic diseases. Methotrexate-Ebeve tablets are unavailable in pharmacies in at least 34 regions. In 28 of those regions, the medication is also almost unavailable in solution form. In five regions, it is completely unavailable for sale.

“russian shipbuilding continues to depend on foreign software,” said assistant to the president and head of the rf’s maritime council nilolai patrushev. This leads to delays in the transition of shipyards to modern production technologies. patrushev also pointed out that shipbuilding is experiencing an “acute shortage” of qualified IT professionals to implement technologies at all stages, from design to ship disposal, and that young russians refuse to work in the industry due to low salaries.

The launch of the first batch of russian low-orbit satellites has been postponed until at least 2026. The passport of the federal project “Internet Access Infrastructure” of the national project “Data Economy” states that in 2025, the first 16 devices had to be launched into orbit. According to the federal project passport, in 2026, the number of satellites should already be 156, in 2027 – 292, and in 2028 – 318.

A Boeing 747 aircraft belonging to rossiya airlines, which was scheduled to fly from magadan to moscow, experienced engine problems during takeoff. This is the third such incident involving the engines of russian airlines’ aircraft this winter.

A Boeing 737-800 operated by yakutia airlines, flying from novosibirsk to yakutsk, also made an unscheduled landing in krasnoyarsk for technical reasons. An hour after takeoff, the crew detected a drop in cabin pressure.

Azur Air’s Boeing 757 flying from Phuket to barnaul made an unscheduled landing at Lanzhou Airport in China. Flying over China,  Flight ZF-2998 sent a signal indicating an emergency situation on board.

In irkutsk region, passengers on civilian flights have begun to be transported by cargo planes.

In December 2025, the total fertility rate (TFR) in russia was 1.374, compared to 1.4 the previous year. The maximum TFR in russia was recorded in 2015. At that time, the rate was 1.77. The lowest TFRs in 2025 were in Leningrad, Smolensk, and Vladimir regions. In 2025, russia also saw a decline in the TFR for third and subsequent children.

In 2025, russia’s authorities allocated 17.8 million rubles for the funerals of occupiers who died in Ukraine, as well as more than 111 million rubles for memorials in honor of participants in the “special military operation”. The amount of funds allocated was record-breaking: in 2022, no such purchases were made; in 2023, 5.2 million rubles were allocated for funerals and 880,000 rubles for memorials; in 2024, 11.8 million and 24.5 million rubles, respectively.

In 2025, criminal proceedings were initiated against at least 81 russian journalists. Compared to 2024, the number has increased significantly: at that time, 45 new cases were recorded against employees of russian-language media. Of the 81 cases recorded against russian journalists, 18 were for “extremist” and “terrorist” articles. In addition, in 2025, two journalists from the United Kingdom, as well as one journalist each from Ukraine, Spain, and Lithuania, became defendants in criminal cases in russia. Over the past year, 41 journalists have been convicted and 12 have been imprisoned. More than 40% of journalists and media outlets are listed as foreign agents. In 2025, 61 journalists, 17 media outlets, and 19 bloggers were among the 219 new “foreign agents” listed.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has extended the suspension of belarus and russia from international ice hockey for the 2026/27 season.

A comparison of the structure of belarusian expenditures for 2025 and 2026 shows how spending priorities are changing. The most notable growth was in the transport category – 11.89%, an increase of 1.06%. Food expenditures decreased to 34.09%, a decline of 0.94%. The top three expenditures by share in 2026 are: food – 34.09%, transportation – 11.89%, and housing and communal services – 9.38%. Their combined share is 55.36% of the budget.

Housing and communal services in belarus rose in price by an average of 12.21% last year. This is almost 1.8 times more than the inflation rate for the year (6.8%). Moreover, the rate of tariff growth was twice as high as it was in 2024, and in general, this is the largest increase since 2020.