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

This week, the European Commission will finalize work on the EU’s new 21st package of sanctions against russia and submit it to the Council of the EU for approval. In particular, the EU plans to add more than 80 new individuals and organizations to the sanctions list, first of all those linked to the military sector.

EU countries have authorized military ships in the Mediterranean Sea to stop and inspect foreign vessels that the EU considers part of russia’s “shadow fleet”. This was announced by the chief of European diplomacy, Kaia Kallas. “Our IRINI operation has changed the rules of engagement and now allows the detention and inspection of ships,” she said.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security policy has also pointed out that the European Union is seeing signs of dissatisfaction in russia regarding the continuation of full-scale war with Ukraine.

The European Union intends to continue tightening its visa policy toward russian citizens. As stated by European Commission Spokesperson Markus Lammert, Brussels is considering additional restrictions as part of a revision of the Visa Code. “We will continue targeted measures to address security challenges posed by third countries,” he said, pointing out that the EU shares the assessment that those involved in the invasion of Ukraine may pose a security threat and intends to respond to these risks.

Ukraine has received the seventh tranche of financial assistance under the Ukraine Facility mechanism to support the state budget in the amount of EUR 2.8 billion.

Latvia’s State Agency for Provisioning will transfer to Ukraine another batch of vehicles confiscated from drunk drivers.

At the annual assembly of the European Boxing Union, all members of the EBU Board of Directors voted unanimously to maintain sanctions against russian and belarusian professional boxers.

The rf’s federal budget deficit keeps growing. By the end of the first five months, it reached 6.0 trillion rubles, or 2.6% of GDP. This figure is double the level for the same period last year and 1.6 times the annual target.

russia’s banking system continues to record a rapid outflow of cash. In May, the volume of cash in circulation increased by another 381.2 billion rubles, setting a record for this month since statistics began being kept (in 1995). In April, the volume of cash in the economy jumped by 678.7 billion rubles, in March – by 301.1 billion. Overall, since the beginning of the year, the amount of paper banknotes in circulation has increased by 1.09 trillion rubles.

russia’s oil and gas revenues fell by 29.8% between January and May 2026.

For the first time since 2024, russia has imported sugar from Brazil. At this, the cost of these shipments reached its highest level in the past two years.

Wholesale prices for AI-95 petrol and diesel fuel on the st. petersburg international commodity and raw materials exchange have risen by 10% over the past two weeks amid limited supply and consistently high demand, with market participants asserting that exchange prices are still far from stabilizing.

The list of goods most frequently counterfeited in russia includes auto parts, clothing and athletic shoes, cosmetics, household chemicals, alcohol, cigarettes, as well as smartphones and laptops. About half of the counterfeit goods are sold at flea markets and street markets, up to 30–40% through online marketplaces, and the rest – on social media and in small retail shops.

A quarter of auctions in russia involve nationalized assets. The total value of assets put up for sale on russian trading platforms as part of state property privatization in January–March 2026 amounted to 432 billion rubles. This figure exceeds the total value of lots sold throughout all of 2025. The number of auctions involving nationalized companies and properties is growing every year and, by the end of the first quarter of the year, had risen to 25.4% from 7% in 2024.

In russia, construction sand is the leader in terms of price growth for building materials – it rose by 21% compared to 2025. Crushed stone and silicate bricks each rose in price by 10%.

The board of directors of the russian mining and metallurgical group “mechel” has recommended that shareholders not pay dividends on ordinary and preferred shares for 2025 due to losses. “mechel”’s loss attributable to shareholders more than doubled in 2025 – to 78.6 billion rubles from 37.12 billion rubles – amid declining coal and steel production and a high key interest rate.

From May 24 to June 6, 2026, the number of hotel bookings in the temporarily occupied Crimea fell by 31% compared to last year. Sevastopol saw a 40% drop. The number of canceled bookings doubled.

Amid a petrol shortage on the Peninsula, local residents are complaining about empty shop shelves: even basic staples such as buckwheat, sugar, rice, flour, pasta, and salt are missing. Some shops have posted notices limiting purchases to no more than three kilograms of sugar and grains per person.

In moscow, the cost of parking spaces in new buildings has risen by 46% over the past year amid a nearly two-fold reduction in supply.

In the first quarter of 2026, the number of criminal cases involving treason filed in russian courts exceeded the 2025 figures by 20%. Specifically, courts handed down 458 verdicts and convicted 478 individuals in cases related to treason: on average, courts issued two verdicts per day. Since February 24, 2022, the fsb has opened more than 1,500 cases under the articles “treason, espionage, confidential collaboration with a foreign state, and aiding the enemy”.

russia’s authorities intend to tighten control over citizens’ access to the internet, in particular by introducing mandatory age verification on websites and services.

belarus’ gold and foreign exchange reserves stood at $15 billion as of early June this year. This is by $228.6 million less than a month earlier.

In January–April 2026, belarus’ GDP grew by only 0.2% compared to the same period last year.

In January–April, the volume of housing construction in the rb fell by 26.6% compared to the same period last year. In rural areas and small towns, this figure dropped even further – by 30%.

Based on the results of the first four months, belarus ranks last in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in terms of agricultural production.