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

The Council of the EU has launched the process of formally opening Cluster 1, “Fundamentals”, in the EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. “The Cyprus Presidency, guided by the merit-based approach, is delivering on enlargement, which is a strategic priority and one of the European Union’s most transformative policies. This positive development sends a strong message of EU unity and determination,” said a Spokesperson for the Cyprus Presidency.

On June 15, two separate intergovernmental conferences will be held in Luxembourg to open the first “Foundations” cluster for Ukraine and Moldova as part of the EU accession negotiations.

European partners have increased funding for unmanned systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, having allocated approximately EUR 1.6 billion for this from January through April 2026.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the allocation of $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, which had already been approved by Congress.

Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska has reported that US House of Representatives has moved forward with a decision to provide military aid to Ukraine and impose sanctions against russia.

“From a practical standpoint, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are becoming increasingly integrated with NATO. We are increasingly using the same standards. Our defense industries are becoming increasingly interconnected. NATO is learning from Ukraine about drone technology and counter-drone measures, but the Alliance can still assist Ukraine, for example, in conducting air combat and so on. So, we are able to help one another,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He also hinted that NATO sees no problem with Ukraine shelling st. petersburg on the day the st. petersburg international economic forum begins there.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy  Kaja Kallas believes that Ukrainian drone strikes deep into russia are causing panic in the kremlin. “…they (russia) are intensifying terrorist attacks in Ukraine precisely because they don’t know what to do about it,” Kallas said.

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US  Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that he is unaware of any “official US  delegation” that, according to the russian side, is supposed to attend the st. petersburg international economic forum.

Chief of Defence of the Republic of Latvia General Kaspars Pudāns believes that russia could take advantage of a “window of opportunity” and invade the Baltic states by 2028.

Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB) of Latvia asserts that russia plans to intensify its legal warfare – abusing legal systems, laws, and court proceedings to weaken Western countries and exert influence over them.

Wheat prices in russia have fallen by 22% over the past year. Producers’ profitability is now extremely low: in central russia, it is zero, in the south – no more than 10–15%, whereas previously it consistently exceeded 20%. Farmers are reducing the area planted with grains: over the past five years, the decline has reached 9%. This year, the area planted with spring wheat will decrease by another 4.6%.

From January to March, the share of unprofitable organizations in russia stood at 36.9% compared to 31.6% for the same period in 2025. According to the results of the first quarter of 2026, 39,800 legal entities reported a profit of 8.412 trillion rubles. This figure is by 20.2% lower than the figure for the same period last year.

In russia, from May 26 to June 1, consumer price growth accelerated to 0.15% from 0.07%. And annual inflation (cumulative over 12 months) rose to 5.39% by June 1 from 5.33%. From the beginning of the year through June 1, consumer prices rose by 3.37%.

In russia, the “shokoladnitsa” café chain reported a net loss of 125.55 million rubles for 2025. By comparison, a net profit of 6.69 million rubles was recorded the previous year.

In russia, renting out a flat yields only about 3.3% annually. For this reason, russians have become less eager to buy flats to rent out. Besides, about 80% of the rental housing market in russia currently operates in the gray market.

Laptop sales in russia have fallen by 20%. The reason is a decline in russians’ purchasing power.

The owners of one of russia’s largest ice cream manufacturers – the “russky kholod” holding company – have initiated the process of liquidating the company. “russky kholod” was founded in 1999 and produced over 140 types of products.

It is no longer possible to install the russian national messenger “max” on an iPhone or iPad using legal methods, as Apple has removed it from its App Store.

Telecom operators are asking the authorities to restore russians’ access to Netflix and social media.

bashkortostan, tatarstan, udmurtia, samara and ulyanovsk regions are among the russian regions where the hantavirus infection is considered a “common” disease.

belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased by $228.6 million in May.

Starting July 1, 2026, the rules for self-employed individuals in belarus will change. From now on, a minimum of 45 rubles must be paid monthly – even in the absence of income.