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

Ukraine and the World Bank have signed an agreement for a loan totaling EUR 236 million, guaranteed by the Kingdom of Sweden. The funding will be used to cover the government’s key social expenditures.

Finland has decided to send Ukraine its 33rd package of military aid worth EUR 125 million. “…russia has been waging its criminal, aggressive war for the fifth consecutive year. Finland is committed to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes. This also strengthens Finland’s defense industrial base,” said Minister of Defence of the country Antti Häkkänen.

Ukraine has received an IRIS-T surface-to-air missile system launcher from Germany.

“I am inspired by Europe’s commitment to the cause. If you look at the amount of funds spent, Europe has stepped up, and Ukraine has been no less, if not more, effective in this process. Therefore, we want them to be able to defend themselves, and we will find a way to provide them with assistance,” said chief of Pentagon Pete Hegseth. He also pointed out that the USA is using Ukraine’s experience in the field of unmanned technologies.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has called on NATO to act more decisively following the incident involving the rf’s drone in Romania.

Prime Minister of Lithuania Inga Ruginienė has spoken in favor of Ukraine’s full membership in the EU by 2030.

67% of residents of Estonia support continued assistance to Ukraine in its fight against the rf’s military aggression.

Minister of Defence of Lithuania Robertas Kaunas has announced the arrival of Ukrainian air defense specialists in the country, who will help the military strengthen defenses against “stray” drones.

The community of the Latvian city of Ogre has donated 26 vehicles, an ATV, and a motorcycle to Ukrainian defenders.

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Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen has expressed confidence that russia is preparing for a new wave of aggression against European countries.

The French Navy detained the russian oil tanker Tagor in the Atlantic Ocean. “It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate maritime law, and finance the war that russia has been waging against Ukraine for over four years,” said President of France Emmanuel Macron.

Estonia has strengthened the defense of its eastern border with the rf by installing the first stationary devices for detecting and monitoring drones.

“… He (putin) uses his version of the past to claim that most of Ukraine is supposedly historic russian territory, and that, in his view, Ukraine has no right to exist as a sovereign state. We need to understand what is going on in his mind and exactly how he uses history as a tool to promote these narratives… Understanding does not mean justification. Without understanding, it is impossible to counteract effectively; we need to understand his logic to know how to counter it,” said research fellow at the EU & Global Affairs Unit and the russia and Eastern Europe Centre (CREEC) of the Clingendael Institute Niels Drost.

At the end of April, the International Monetary Fund updated its “World Economic Outlook”, according to which the ranking of the world’s largest economies will change by 2031. The IMF’s forecasts for russia are pessimistic. Between 2016 and 2026, the rf’s economy grew, but by 2031, experts believe the country will be the only one among the leading economies whose nominal GDP will shrink by 1.6%. This will allow Brazil, Canada, and Mexico to move up in the rankings.

russia for the first time has imposed a temporary ban on the export of aviation fuel used in gas turbine and turbojet engines for civil and military aviation.

Export prices for russian steel billets have begun to decline. By May 29, prices for russian steel billets at Black Sea ports had fallen from $488–490 to $485–488 per ton over the course of a week. The decline in the cost of Chinese steel billets is putting pressure on russian prices.

In russia, the tax burden on bookmakers has increased 60-fold since the beginning of 2026. As a result, bookmakers’ marketing budgets will be cut by 70–75% by mid-summer. Industry revenue in the first quarter has already fallen by 1% year-on-year, and by the end of 2026, it may decline by a total of 4–5%.

Caviar production in russia in 2026 will decrease compared to the levels of the year 2025.

The ministry of internal affairs of the rf has already developed a database containing digital profiles of foreigners and migrants. Each foreigner’s digital profile will contain a significant amount of information. It will also include information on all mobile phone numbers registered in their name (no more than 10).

The rf’s ministry of digital technologies’ annual spending on digitalization decreased by 6.5% to 52 billion rubles. Cost-cutting measures focused on the creation and development of the ministry’s own information systems, as well as on reducing the volume of direct grants to the IT sector.

In 2026, tuition fees at russian universities rose by 11% compared to the previous year.

The board of directors of “rusgidro” has recommended that the general meeting of shareholders not pay dividends for the 2023–2025 period.

Leader of the “communists of russia” party sergei malinkovich has proposed giving up the use of the word “hamburger” and replacing it with russian-language equivalents. As possible alternatives, he suggested the names “kotletnik”, “kokoshnik”, or “leningradsky buterbrod”.

Every third resident of Lithuania does not approve of easing sanctions against belarus; 17%, on the contrary, vote for tightening them.

belarusian human rights activists know the names of at least 27 minors who have become defendants in politically motivated criminal cases.

In belarus, utility rates will increase by 7.3% starting June 1. This is the second phase of the planned revision of utility rate this year. The previous increase took place three months ago, in March.