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

Ukraine expects 150 new Swedish Gripen and 100 French Rafale fighter jets to be supplied by its international partners.

The US Department of State has approved the potential sale of spare parts (worth approximately $185 million) for American weapons to Ukraine.

France will provide Ukraine with an additional radar for the SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile system as a replacement while the other is being repaired.

Ukraine and France have signed a Letter of Intent on joint arms production in the two countries.

“russia attacked Ukraine’s energy sector, high-voltage transmission, key substations, with an impact on nuclear power generation. This is terror against the Ukrainian people to freeze them to death,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže about russian attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

“These systematic strikes on (Ukraine’s) energy infrastructure, in particular on facilities related to nuclear energy, are war crimes under international law and must be punished with real measures, not just statements of concern, up to and including actions in the International Criminal Court. Those who order and carry out these attacks must be held criminally responsible,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys.

Ukraine has received 300 generators worth EUR 417,000 as part of support from the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI).

Kherson region has received 34 generators from international partners.

Finland plans to allocate EUR 3 million to support the UN’s “Women in Ukraine” program for 2026-2028.

Since February 2022, the German charity Ukraine-Hilfe Berlin e.V. has allocated more than EUR 10 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

rf

“russia’s aggression poses the ‘most significant and direct threat’ to NATO members and European security,” reads this year’s Munich Security Conference report.

European Commission Spokesperson Paula Pinho has said that the European Union is no longer afraid of potential market instability and is considering a proposal to completely ban maritime services for oil tankers belonging to russia’s “shadow fleet” as a way to strengthen existing sanctions.

The United Kingdom will ban maritime services for russian liquefied natural gas carriers at the end of 2026, – said UK Deputy Foreign Secretary Stephen Dowty.

India’s state-owned oil refiners Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum, as well as private Reliance Industries, have stopped accepting bids for russian oil shipments in March and April.

The deficit of the rf’s federal budget in the first month of 2026 exceeded the January 2025 result by 17%, or by 252 billion rubles, due to a collapse in oil and gas revenues and significant expenditures at the beginning of the year.

“russian citizens are increasingly saving on food and non-food products, and have also begun to cut back on spending on medical services,” reported the central bank of the rf. A shift in consumer preferences “to the budget segment” and “more careful spending” is being observed in all macro-regions of the country.

In three months, retail prices for cucumbers in russia rose by 111.1%. In 2025, the cost of sandwiches with natural red caviar rose by 13%, and with imitation caviar – by 24%.

In the rf, dependence on imports is most acute in high-tech industries such as microelectronics, modern machine building, telecommunications equipment, robotics, and complex control systems. The automotive industry and consumer electronics also remain tied to foreign components and technologies, as there are no full-fledged domestic substitutes. It is in technologically complex segments that russians are facing rising prices, reduced choice, and the replacement of familiar products with simpler analogues.

The share of unprofitable coal enterprises in russia increased in January–November 2025 to 66.7% from 53.3% in the same period a year earlier. The net loss of the coal industry (before tax) for the 11 months of last year amounted to 334.9 billion rubles.

PJSC KamAZ ended 2025 with a net loss of 37 billion rubles, which is 11 times higher than in 2024.

Passenger car production in russia fell by 11.8% in 2025.

Freight traffic on the northern sea route decreased by 870,000 tons in 2025 due to a decline in the bulk cargo, LNG, and oil segments. Analysts do not see any convincing growth points for freight traffic on this route in 2026.

In russia, the proportion of students continuing their education in 10th form has fallen to a record low. In 2024, 708,200 students enrolled in 10th form, and 695,600 enrolled in mid-level specialist training programs. The gap between these groups has narrowed to its smallest in 25 years.

Graduates of russia’s technical schools are in no hurry to follow the government’s calls to find employment at factories that are short of workers: in 2024, almost 40% of russians who had obtained secondary specialized education decided not to work in their profession.

The key rate of 13–15% may “freeze” construction in russia. Due to unstable demand, developers were cautious in their decisions to launch new projects. Thus, in 2025, by 12% less housing was built than a year earlier.

The price of new comfort-class buildings in moscow rose by 39.5% over the year.

In January, the maximum price per square meter in new moscow buildings reached a record 10.6 million rubles. Over the year, the maximum price per square meter in new buildings in the capital rose by 25%.

The construction market in st. petersburg has entered a period of turbulence. In 2025, developers showed interest in credit funds. The share of debt in the total volume of open credit lines has now risen to 49% compared to 41% in January 2025.

“In russia, access to ‘adult websites’ should be restricted for those who do not have children,” said deputy chair of the state duma committee on family protection tatyana butskaya. In her opinion, this will help increase the birth rate in the country.

Over the past ten years, the education system of the rb has lost nearly 18,000 school teachers. In 2025, there were 98,100 teachers in belarusian schools. This is by 4,000 fewer than a year ago and by 17,840 fewer than in 2016.

This month, belarus is holding its annual “month of military-patriotic work”, aimed at militarization. Since the end of January, schools have been holding weekly meetings with military and law enforcement officials, competitions, upkeep of   war memorials, and campaigns to encourage students to enter law enforcement training institutions. And this – in addition to the mandatory “brainwashing” during information hours. Even younger children are encouraged to participate in drawing, poetry, and song contests. Students say that often  one theme “combines” the topics of the German-soviet war, the “heroism of internationalist soldiers”, the soviet army, and the belarusian armed forces.