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

Ukraine and the European Union have agreed on the “Drone Deal” – a defense-industrial agreement. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has pointed out that in recent months, Ukraine has signed similar agreements on drones with several countries – from Europe to the Middle East – and this demonstrates significant interest in Ukraine’s combat experience.

France will provide Ukraine with two SAMP/T systems this year and by October, together with Italy, will expedite the delivery of Aster 30 missiles for these systems.

The German defense company Rheinmetall has delivered to Ukraine the first batch of 155-millimeter artillery ammunition, manufactured at the company’s new plant in Unterlüs.

The Anti-Ballistic Coalition has been joined by leading European defense companies: Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Thales, Safran, MBDA, Eurosam, Saab, Diehl Defence, Weibel Scientific, Fire Point, HENSOLDT, Sener, and Leonardo.

EU Ambassadors have agreed to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 4, 2028.

Director of the Croatian state-owned energy company LNG Croatia Ivan Fugas has announced that Croatia plans to expand the capacity of its sole liquefied natural gas terminal by nearly 30%, which could potentially increase energy supplies to Ukraine.

Norway has approved a new package of sanctions against russia, which aligns with the European Union’s 20th package of anti-russian measures.

The EU has called on russia and belarus to return to Ukraine all Ukrainian citizens (children included) who have been arbitrarily detained and illegally deported.

European Union member states have appealed to the European Commission to restrict funding for the International Olympic Committee and other organizations that allow russian and belarusian athletes to participate in competitions.

The European Commission will investigate whether European sports associations that have decided to reinstate russian athletes’ eligibility are receiving funding.

A bill to significantly strengthen anti-russian sanctions, which was put forward  by Republican Lindsey Graham, has been introduced in the US Senate.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul has called for strengthening deterrence and defense measures on NATO’s northern flank in light of growing hybrid threats from russia.

Minister of Defence of Hungary Romulusz Rusin-Sendi has stated that Budapest intends to restore the trust of its NATO allies and is “closing the door on the russians”.

Minister of Culture of Latvia Nauris Puntulis has called for giving up the russian language in Latvian media. At the moment, russian accounts for about 2.5% of media content.

Argentina has suspended cooperation with russia in the field of peaceful nuclear energy. The country no longer plans to import russian reactors or nuclear fuel.

Japan will step up its countermeasures against foreign intelligence services following a report about “a den of the rf’s spies”.

Negotiations with China over the new “power of siberia 2” gas pipeline – which have been ongoing for more than 10 years and from which the kremlin hopes to recoup the lost European market – have finally reached a dead end. During putin’s latest visit to Beijing, when he hoped to finally reach an agreement on the gas pipeline, Chinese officials asked the russian delegation not to raise the issue again until conditions change.

russians have lost all optimism regarding their financial situation and the economy as a whole, as shown by a “levada center” poll. The consumer sentiment index has been falling for a year and, in the last week of June, dropped below the 100-point mark which separates optimism from pessimism. Over the past year, the index has lost 23 points, 9 of which were lost in the last two months, when a fuel crisis gripped the country. Not only are assessments of the current situation in the red, but so are expectations. Expectations have fallen to 97 points, while the assessment of the current economic situation has dropped to 89 points.

Since the beginning of the year, consumer prices in russia have risen by 4.19%, and over the past 12 months, this figure has increased by 6.02%. Inflation in russia continues to show steady growth, significantly outpacing last year’s rates. Inflation in June 2026 was four times higher than inflation for the same period last year: 0.87% versus 0.2%. Vegetables, fuel, and services have all become more expensive simultaneously, and this occurred even before the indexation of utility rates effective July 1 – meaning that July’s figures will most likely be even higher. Vegetables saw the sharpest price increases: onions rose by 26.1%, potatoes – by 23.1%, and cabbage – by 14.7%. In addition, service prices rose by 1% over the month and by 10.6% over the year: specifically, mobile phone subscription fees jumped by 8%, tours to Egypt rose by 7.9%, and tours to Turkey increased by 6.5%.

During trading on July 15, the moscow stock exchange index fell to its lowest level since December 2022. The first half of 2026 was one of the weakest periods for the russian stock market in recent years. The moscow exchange index fell by more than 15%, and 215 of the 251 traded stocks lost value.

From January through May 2026, construction output in russia continued to decline, having fallen by 7.4% year-on-year over the five-month period – the longest downturn in the sector since 2015–2016.

“russia’s economy needs to attract approximately 3 million workers, production plant operators, and machine operators over the next six years,” said minister of labour of the rf anton kotyakov.

The russian pawnshop market is projected to see a 60% increase in profits in 2026.

In 2025, compared to 2024, “rostech”’s net profit fell by 42%.

Arrests have begun in russia for displaying “extremist symbols” through posts on Facebook and Instagram.

In the first half of 2026, russian teenagers committed 11,400 offenses, which is by 9% more than during the same period in 2025.

Residents of moscow have begun complaining en masse about the inability to obtain a passport for travelling abroad.

The cost of transporting goods from China to russia by road has risen by 15–25% over the past month amid the fuel crisis. Every day, an additional 10,000–20,000 rubles is added to the cost.

The fuel crisis has led to a sharp rise in road freight rates in russia. Over the past 1.5 months, from late May to mid-July, average road freight rates jumped by 17.5%. Over the past year, rates have risen by 28.8%.

Amid an acute fuel shortage at filling stations across russia and the shift to a fuel-saving regime, russians have drastically cut back on domestic travel. Demand for domestic vacations fell by at least 30% in the first half of the year compared to last year.

People began having their cars blessed while queueing for petrol.

Governor of the stavropol territory vladimir vladimirov has urged officials to switch to bicycles amid the region’s fuel shortage.

Drivers in saratov will not have their fines waived for parking in lines for petrol under “No Stopping” signs.

The first shooting in a petrol queue in the rf occurred in chelyabinsk.