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

Ukraine and the European Union have initialed a Memorandum of Understanding on the provision of EUR 8.35 billion in macro-financial assistance as part of the EUR 90 billion EU loan.

The EU plans to extend the regular renewal cycle for sanctions against russia from 6 to 12 months.

The UK’s new sanctions package includes, in particular, a ban on the transportation of liquefied natural gas from russia by sea. This was announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “This is a new, powerful sanctions package that goes far beyond existing sanctions. It includes a new ban on the maritime transportation of liquefied natural gas and new bans on the supply of petroleum products from russia,” he clarified.

“The European Union will continue to uphold sanctions on imports of russian oil and gas,” the European Commission stated.

If russia, which is currently conducting joint exercises with belarus involving nuclear capabilities, dares to use them against Ukraine, the consequences for moscow will be devastating. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

During a meeting in Paris, the Ministers of Finance of the G7 unanimously confirmed their readiness to continue applying sanctions pressure on russia.

The procurement of American weapons and ammunition for Ukraine under the PURL (Priority Requirements List for Ukraine) mechanism, including interceptor missiles for air defense systems, is ongoing. This was stated by Commander of NATO’s Allied Forces in Europe General Alexus Grinkevich.

Chancellor of the FRG Friedrich Merz hopes that leader of China Xi Jinping will urge putin to end the war against Ukraine.

US Vice President J.D. Vance has stated that transferring Iran’s enriched uranium to russia as part of negotiations to end the war is not currently part of the USA’s plans.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has stated that russia and belarus “bear direct responsibility” for the drones that have been increasingly entering the airspace of the Baltic states. She has added that russia’s public threats against the Baltic states “are completely unacceptable”.

After the incident involving the downing of a drone, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna has stated that Ukraine has every right to attack targets on russia’s territory. “Let’s be clear: Ukraine has every right to strike russian military targets to weaken russia’s ability to wage aggression,” Tsahkna said. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia has emphasized that incidents involving “stray” Ukrainian drones on the territory of third countries are a direct consequence of the war and the rf’s provocations.

France has tightened the procedure for obtaining and renewing temporary residence permits for russians.

russia’s economy is weaker than official statistics suggests. The European Union should tighten sanctions against russia, in particular by imposing a ban on providing maritime services to ships transporting russian oil, gas, and coal. This view was expressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmér Stenergård.

putin’s fifth visit to China since the start of the full-scale war – and his 25th during his presidency – once again failed to yield the long-awaited agreements on the construction of the “power of siberia 2” gas pipeline.

As war-related expenditures rise, the share of classified budget items in the rf’s federal budget is rapidly increasing. Last year, the majority of the increase in budget expenditures fell on the classified part, and its share of expenditures rose to 28.6% from 24.9% in 2024. Since the start of the full-scale war, the percentage of classified items in expenditures has nearly doubled: in 2021, it stood at 15.1%.

The rapid slowdown in inflation recorded by russia’s official statistics has not affected how people perceive it. Their estimates of price growth over the past year rose from 14.6% to 15% in just one month.

Most russian companies faced cash flow gaps in 2026. 53% of organizations reported a lack of funds for current expenses, and for 27%, this problem was new. Companies in the oil and gas and other raw materials sectors, wholesale and retail trade, as well as heavy industry, were most frequently affected by working capital shortages.

Turnover for russian businesses during the May holidays fell by 15%.

russians began switching to cash en masse amid constant internet outages and tax hikes. In April 2026, the share of cash payments in the total number of transactions rose to 30%.

A black market for expired products has emerged in russia. The growing demand for expired products is a sign of a very sharp drop in incomes and the impoverishment of the population.

In the rf, the debt collection agency market reached its highest level in the last three years by the end of the first quarter of 2026. A total of 14.4 million debts amounting to 355.7 billion rubles were transferred to debt collectors. At this, for the first time the share of debts owed to microfinance organizations exceeded the share of overdue bank loans: 163.7 billion rubles versus 156.5 billion rubles, respectively.

russian base stations, which provide wireless connectivity between phones and mobile networks, transmit data by 25% slower than their foreign counterparts and cost by 70% more.

russian authorities want to ban russians from terminating contracts with mobile operators.

The rate of cloud services’ penetration in the russian corporate sector is only 15%. In the USA, this figure exceeds 80%.

The board of directors of “uralkaliy” recommended not paying dividends on any class of shares for the 2025 fiscal year. The company last paid dividends in 2023.

“bork-retail”, a company that sells goods under the BORK home appliance brand, ended 2025 with a profit by 90% lower than the previous year.

russian authorities will seize land plots from 100,000 russians because the land is not being used for its intended purpose or is neglected.

Member of the state duma boris chernyshov has reported that he has sent a request to the government asking to create a service for submitting delations on “public services”.

In 2025, the budget deficit in belgorod region amounted to 14 billion rubles, and the regional government drafted the 2026 budget with a deficit of 17.4 billion rubles.

In kuban region, the debts of heat supply organizations exceeded 1 billion rubles.

An increasing number of belarusians have begun to view the state of the economy more negatively. 34% of survey participants reported that the economy had not improved. 32% of respondents stated that their family’s financial situation had worsened. 28% of those surveyed reported a decline in income. The main reason – rising prices – was cited by 55%.

On June 1, belarus will implement the second phase of utility tariff hikes. Tariffs for hot water and heating are expected to rise by 7.3%.