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

On February 24, the EU Council plans to finalize approval of the EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine for 2026–2027.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has suggested that European politicians learn from Ukraine’s decisive and proactive use of force for defense.

“Since the start of russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Germany has provided Ukraine with around EUR 39 billion in bilateral civilian aid and approximately EUR 55 billion in military aid, in the form of deliveries or delivery commitments,” reads the statement by the FRG’s government.

“We will have to protect Ukraine from any potential future aggression by russia. To accomplish this major task, Ukraine needs substantive, reliable security guarantees,” emphasized Minister of Defence  of the FRG Boris Pistorius.

“If one looks at dry figures, more than 50% of all large-caliber ammunition for Ukraine was provided within the framework of the ammunition initiative in the past... Since its launch, it has brought about 4.4 million pieces of large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine, with less than 2 million delivered last year alone... So, we can say that it has been vital for Ukraine. And it continues to be so, because we have no alternative to it yet,” said President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel.

About 62% of Czech citizens support the continuation of the initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has stated that the current EU enlargement methodology was developed “for peacetime” and needs radical change. “But we have to find a solution to bridge the gap between the current methodology and geopolitical challenges. We can’t wait any longer”, Kos said about the timing of Ukraine’s potential accession.

President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs has said he doesn’t see all EU member states ready to agree on a specific date for Ukraine’s accession, but the bloc can find a solution for this.

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković believes that a new approach to Ukraine’s accession to the EU is possible. “Most member states support accession, but we must proceed with caution from a technical standpoint so as not to create a significant imbalance within the EU,” said the Croatian Prime Minister.

Former Commander of US Central Command and former CIA Director David Petraeus believes that security guarantees for Ukraine should include clear and “ironclad” commitments from NATO countries, including the USA, regarding a specific response in case of russia’s renewed aggression.

“When will we be able to say that when bombs are falling on cities (in Ukraine), we cannot force these people, who have no electricity in their homes, to go to the polls? This is a cynical trap we are falling into, and we must not do this under any circumstances,” said President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola on the possibility of holding elections in Ukraine during the war.

“Let me be clear. Too slow. (The work) is going too slowly. We in the Council of Europe are ready. We have done our job. We are also ready with Ukraine,” said Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset, acknowledging that work on preparing the Special Tribunal on russian aggression against Ukraine was too slow.

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“Today, russia is broken, its economy is in ruins, it is cut off from European energy markets, and its own citizens are fleeing. In fact, the greatest threat russia currently poses is that it will gain more at the negotiating table than it has achieved on the battlefield,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

“I think NATO is stronger than ever. We already have new defense plans, which means we are not just waiting. If russia invades our territory, we will resist and take the war to russia’s territory,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna.

Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan has stressed that his country has not yet extradited a single person persecuted for political reasons to russia and does not plan to do so at the kremlin’s request.

Chief Executive Officer of German weapons-maker Rheinmetall AG Armin Papperger believes that russia is not interested in ending the war.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda sees no signs that russia is currently willing to engage in real negotiations to end the war against Ukraine. According to him, “everything indicates that the russians are simply imitating the negotiation process.”

Finland is looking for ways to revise real estate deals made by russians over the past 20 years.

The capacity of oil storage facilities in russia is nearing exhaustion. Onshore storage facilities allow russia to store only about 32 million barrels, which is only 3-4 days of current production. Currently, about 150 million barrels transported by tankers from russian ports are “stuck” at sea. Due to difficulties in selling oil, russian oil companies are already reducing production.

Last week, rosstat recorded an acceleration in petrol price growth at filling stations: over the week, the cost of fuel increased by 0.2%. The growth is explained by a combination of factors: an increase in excise taxes by 5.1%, an increase in VAT from 20% to 22%, as well as a gradual increase in demand after the New Year period.

Sales of new russian road construction equipment on the domestic market in russia fell by 27.5% in 2025. The main reason for the decline in market demand is the stagnation of housing and infrastructure construction. The situation was exacerbated by the relatively strong ruble, which made Chinese manufacturers’ models more profitable. In 2026, sales are likely to remain at the same level, with a recovery from the crisis expected only after 2028.

kazan needs nearly 9 billion rubles to overhaul the electric transport infrastructure, but there is no money. Mayor Ilsur Metshin hopes that 74 of the 134 km of tram tracks will be repaired, cables replaced, and contact lines repaired “with the arrival of peace”.

In kazan, near the moscow market, kiosks will be bought out to recreate a square from the soviet era.

russia has begun to restrict the sale of cucumbers to one buyer. In novosibirsk, for example, the vegetable can be sold for 300 rubles per kilogram, but no more than five kilograms.

belarus’ industrial production in January amounted to 16.6 billion rubles. It decreased by 3.4% compared to the same month in 2025.

Payment cards of the Lithuanian online bank Paysera have stopped working in belarus. Card transactions began to be rejected, and belarusian customers received a message from the bank stating that transactions in belarus “will be unsuccessful”. Until now, Paysera remained the only Lithuanian bank whose cards could be used for payment in belarus.