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

Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz has stated that during the G7 summit in France, the West demonstrated unity for the first time in a long while regarding support for Ukraine and pressure on russia.

The European Commission intends to issue EU bonds worth up to EUR 80 billion in the second half of 2026 and use the proceeds, in particular, to support Ukraine. “The funds will be used for EU policy programs financed through borrowing on capital markets. This includes payments to EU member states under the NextGenerationEU program, support for Ukraine (including payments under the new Ukraine Support Loan), payments under the SAFE instrument, and contributions to other EU programs,” the statement reads.

Ukraine will receive EUR 71 million in grant aid from France. The funds will be directed toward the restoration of critical infrastructure and support for key economic sectors.

The French Development Agency (AFD) will provide Ukrgasbank with a EUR 25 million credit line, EUR10 million in loan guarantees, and up to EUR10 million in grants and technical assistance to enable the bank to continue financing Ukrainian municipalities.

Estonia, which will host the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2027) in Tallinn next year, intends to involve the Nordic and Baltic countries in organizing the event.

Armenia will send a representative to the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Poland.

“russia’s policy in the occupied Ukrainian territories is distinctly ultranationalist and, to a certain extent, revolutionary in nature. russia is attempting to create a new society there. It seeks to erase Ukrainian identity, culture, and nationality and turn Ukrainians into russians. And this is very similar to fascism, even though such projects had existed before the emergence of Italian and German fascism,” said analyst at the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) Andreas Umland.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the FRG is conducting searches of premises in connection with the case involving a former gazprom subsidiary – gazprom Germania – regarding an attempted act of sabotage aimed at disrupting gas supplies in 2022.

The EU Council will extend the package of sectoral restrictive measures against russia for one year; these measures were previously renewed every six months.

European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius has stated that the European Union must integrate Ukraine into the future defense union. “It would be difficult to understand if we in Europe did not consider it vital to integrate the Armed Forces of Ukraine into our European defense architecture,” he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani is convinced that the EU must maintain a consistent stance on the purchase of russian gas and oil if it wants to force russia to the negotiating table.

north korea has accused russia of delaying the opening of the road bridge across the Tumannaya River. The dprk has completed its work, while the russian side is still struggling with the long-delayed project. According to north korean estimates, it will take about another year before all planned facilities are fully completed and regular traffic begins.

In the first four months of 2026, russia reduced its aluminum exports to the EU by a factor of 4.5. On an annualized basis, the value of shipments fell by a factor of 21.

For the first time since June 2024, the ministry of finance of the rf has canceled a federal bond offering following the sharpest collapse in the russian government debt market in several years.

In 17 regions of russia, more than 10% of the population lives below the poverty line. The situation is the worst in ingushetia, where 24.3% of the population earns less than the established threshold. In tyva, 18.6% of residents live below the poverty line, in karachay-cherkessia – 15.3%.

During the week of June 15–21, petrol production in russia fell by approximately 25% compared to the average daily figure for June 2025.

As of June 24, restrictions on the sale of petrol and diesel fuel had been officially introduced in 22 regions, meaning it has become difficult to purchase fuel in every fourth region of the rf.

russians began searching the internet en masse for “how to siphon petrol”. The number of search queries containing this phrase has increased tenfold over the past three months.

The russian airline “azimut” has reported an acute shortage of jet fuel on the market. At the same time, the airline is seeing a sharp rise in fuel prices.

Chinese manufacturers of steel structures are actively gaining ground in the russian market. Prices from Chinese suppliers are by 20–40% lower than those of russian suppliers.

By mid-June, the wholesale price of a broiler carcass reached 200 rubles per kg, which is by 10% higher than last year’s level. Certain cuts have become even more expensive: fillets – by 25%, thighs – by 26%. In January–May, poultry meat production at agricultural enterprises fell by 2.1%, and in May, the decline accelerated to 4%.

The average price of cider in russia for the period from April 2025 to March 2026 rose by 22%, and that of vodka – by 17.7%.

Another trendy brand in russia has run into financial trouble: the men’s clothing manufacturer “sarto reale” is leaving the market. The need to file for bankruptcy arose due to a prolonged cash flow gap.

The number of requests from russian companies for the repair and maintenance of corporate network infrastructure in 2025 increased by 120% compared to the previous year. At this, the number of customers themselves increased by only 8%. Analysts attribute this to the critical wear and tear of equipment from Western vendors that have left the russian market, a decline in parallel imports, and the increasing complexity of the IT landscape due to the simultaneous use of domestic, Asian, and Western solutions.

In russia, only nine shopping centers were opened between January and June 2026. This is three times fewer than a year earlier.

russian hospitality and food service establishments are losing approximately 193 billion rubles a year due to a decline in the quality of service and products.

In the first five months of 2026, the “vtb” customers spent over 74 billion rubles on medications. This is by 21% more than the previous year. From January through May, the bank’s cardholders made approximately 80 million purchases at pharmacies.

“Pharmacy” tourism has become a massive trend among russians in 2026. The reason is a shortage of medicines due to sanctions, high prices, and inefficient production of medicines within the rf itself.

Total “enslavement”: Nearly 80% of medical residents at russian medical universities will study under targeted contracts this year, as stated by minister of healthcare mikhail murashko.

Students at russia’s largest medical university – sechenov university – reported six-month delays in the payment of presidential scholarships.

Leading russian universities have sharply increased tuition fees. In some cases, the increase exceeded 30%, while the cost of certain programs surpassed 1 million rubles per year.

The state duma has stated that the adoption of the law on fighting domestic violence will discourage young people from getting married.

For its part, the ministry of justice of the rf has declared cohabitation without marriage a “threat to russia’s security”.

Clowning has become a niche form of entertainment in russia. Demand for clowns has fallen eightfold over the past four years.

belarus has disappeared from the Speedtest rankings – a popular American service for measuring actual internet connection speed and quality. Last July, Speedtest was blocked in russia, and now disruptions in its operation are also being observed in belarus.

A sign of creeping russification: an increasingly smaller proportion of belarusian school graduates are choosing the belarusian language for their centralized exam. While 20 years ago nearly half chose it, now only every sixth does.

Chairman of the healthcare committee of the minsk city executive committee yuriy gorbich has stated that one ambulance call in belarus “costs over 240 rubles” (≈ EUR 75). From 2024 to 2025, the cost of a departure of an ambulance team has become about one and a half times more expensive. At this, the official inflation for the past year stood at 6.8%. In particular, paid services rose in price by 8%.