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

At a UN Security Council meeting, the United Kingdom and France condemned russian attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea, which threaten the food security of millions of people around the world. “russia is on track to launch more than 300 missiles at Ukraine in July – this would set a grim record for this war,” emphasized Sarah McIntosh, the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

“By attacking and deliberately destroying Odesa’s port infrastructure, ships carrying Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, and the World Food Program warehouse in Dnipro, russia is not only killing innocent civilians but also directly threatening the food security of millions of people, especially in Africa and the Middle East, by reverting to a policy we had hoped it had left behind,” said Jérôme Bonnafont, France’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

“Poland has never had, does not have, and will never have any territorial claims against Ukraine,” said Maciej Wewiór, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, regarding putin’s provocations concerning Ukraine’s future.

American influencer Laura Loomer called Ukraine an ally of the USA and urged people to help Ukrainians defeat russia, since if russia were to seize Ukraine, it would attempt to wage war against NATO and the USA. “If russia is supplying weapons to Iran to kill American soldiers, and Ukrainians are helping us manufacture drones to bolster our stockpiles, this clearly shows me that Ukraine is our ally and russia is our enemy,” she emphasized.

European Commission Spokesperson Anouar-El-Anouni has stated that the EC is confident in the legality of the sanctions imposed in 2022 on tatyana navka, the wife of kremlin spokesperson peskov, who has decided to challenge these economic restrictions.

The central bank of the rf has lowered its forecast for russia’s economic growth in 2026 to 0%.

russia’s authorities have decided to speed up the increase in “russian railways” (“rzd”) tariffs, originally planned for 2027, to help the budget of the transportation monopoly, which is experiencing financial difficulties and has accumulated nearly 4 trillion rubles in debt. Instead of next year, the government has decided to implement the next indexation of “russian railways’’ fares as early as October 1 of this year: freight rates will increase by 8.5%, and fares for long-distance passenger travel will rise by 9.2%. Since March of this year, the government has already implemented an unscheduled fare increase – as part of a “transportation safety” fee. Last year, “rzd”’s freight rates were indexed by 10%; in 2024 – by 13.8%; and in 2022 and 2023 – by 6.8% and 8%, respectively. Thus, following the October adjustment, the cumulative increase in freight rates since the start of the full-scale war will reach 56%.

The fuel crisis has spread to the railways – the “rzd” is facing a shortage of diesel fuel for locomotives.

“vtb” group’s net profit for the second quarter of 2026 fell by 33.6% year-on-year. Against this background, “vtb” is launching a 10% workforce “optimization” at its central office.

Sellers on the russian marketplace “ozon” have seen the cost of insurance against drone strikes triple.

In the altai republic, rules for fuel sales at filling stations have been tightened; from now on, at least 24 hours must elapse between refueling the same vehicle at different stations.

The number of foreign tourists in russia fell by nearly 20% in the first half of the year.

russians have started buying secondhand clothing in an effort to save money amid the economic downturn. There has been a 9% year-on-year increase in the number of purchases made by russians at secondhand shops. At this, the average receipt amount is by 10% higher than the corresponding figure from last year. Meanwhile, the number of purchases of new clothing fell by 10%, while the average receipt amount rose by 9% year-on-year.

Over the past year, the median salary for dentists in russia has fallen by 10%. The reason is a 30% drop in demand for dental services, which has already made clinics begin laying off staff.

The cost of a voluntary health insurance policy in russia has risen by 12% over the past year. Over the last five years, the average cost of a policy has more than doubled. Medical inflation remains the main reason for this increase.

russia has postponed the issue of aircraft carriers construction until the 2040s. In the mid-2010s, the ministry of defence promised to begin construction of at least one aircraft carrier by 2025 and to transfer it to the fleet by the end of 2030.

russian universities have received an unofficial directive to reduce the enrollment of male applicants in order to ensure the autumn draft. To this end, it is proposed to raise the cutoff scores for state-funded spots, reduce the number of spots reserved for students eligible for preferential treatment, and tighten the review of entrance exam results and individual achievements. These measures will increase the number of men who will not receive a student deferment and will be drafted into the army.

Nearly 5,000 people were subjected to political repression in russia in 2025.

About 850,000 russians were affected by emergencies during the first six months of 2026. Besides, between January and June 2026, 156 people died in different  regions of russia, which is one and a half times more than in the first half of last year. The total number of recorded incidents rose by 24% to 146 cases.

Since the beginning of 2026, the number of attempts at illegal migration from belarus to the EU has exceeded 10,000.

Lithuania detects dozens of attempts to smuggle migrants through tunnels from belarus. Lithuanian border guards are convinced that belarusian officials are involved in this matter.

In January–May 2026, the rb’s foreign trade deficit amounted to $138.3 million.

The number of unprofitable enterprises in belarus’ agricultural sector increased 1.5-fold over the year.

At a UN Security Council meeting, the United Kingdom and France condemned russian attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea, which threaten the food security of millions of people around the world. “russia is on track to launch more than 300 missiles at Ukraine in July – this would set a grim record for this war,” emphasized Sarah McIntosh, the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

“By attacking and deliberately destroying Odesa’s port infrastructure, ships carrying Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, and the World Food Program warehouse in Dnipro, russia is not only killing innocent civilians but also directly threatening the food security of millions of people, especially in Africa and the Middle East, by reverting to a policy we had hoped it had left behind,” said Jérôme Bonnafont, France’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

“Poland has never had, does not have, and will never have any territorial claims against Ukraine,” said Maciej Wewiór, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, regarding putin’s provocations concerning Ukraine’s future.

American influencer Laura Loomer called Ukraine an ally of the USA and urged people to help Ukrainians defeat russia, since if russia were to seize Ukraine, it would attempt to wage war against NATO and the USA. “If russia is supplying weapons to Iran to kill American soldiers, and Ukrainians are helping us manufacture drones to bolster our stockpiles, this clearly shows me that Ukraine is our ally and russia is our enemy,” she emphasized.

European Commission Spokesperson Anouar-El-Anouni has stated that the EC is confident in the legality of the sanctions imposed in 2022 on tatyana navka, the wife of kremlin spokesperson peskov, who has decided to challenge these economic restrictions.

The central bank of the rf has lowered its forecast for russia’s economic growth in 2026 to 0%.

russia’s authorities have decided to speed up the increase in “russian railways” (“rzd”) tariffs, originally planned for 2027, to help the budget of the transportation monopoly, which is experiencing financial difficulties and has accumulated nearly 4 trillion rubles in debt. Instead of next year, the government has decided to implement the next indexation of “russian railways’’ fares as early as October 1 of this year: freight rates will increase by 8.5%, and fares for long-distance passenger travel will rise by 9.2%. Since March of this year, the government has already implemented an unscheduled fare increase – as part of a “transportation safety” fee. Last year, “rzd”’s freight rates were indexed by 10%; in 2024 – by 13.8%; and in 2022 and 2023 – by 6.8% and 8%, respectively. Thus, following the October adjustment, the cumulative increase in freight rates since the start of the full-scale war will reach 56%.

The fuel crisis has spread to the railways – the “rzd” is facing a shortage of diesel fuel for locomotives.

“vtb” group’s net profit for the second quarter of 2026 fell by 33.6% year-on-year. Against this background, “vtb” is launching a 10% workforce “optimization” at its central office.

Sellers on the russian marketplace “ozon” have seen the cost of insurance against drone strikes triple.

In the altai republic, rules for fuel sales at filling stations have been tightened; from now on, at least 24 hours must elapse between refueling the same vehicle at different stations.

The number of foreign tourists in russia fell by nearly 20% in the first half of the year.

russians have started buying secondhand clothing in an effort to save money amid the economic downturn. There has been a 9% year-on-year increase in the number of purchases made by russians at secondhand shops. At this, the average receipt amount is by 10% higher than the corresponding figure from last year. Meanwhile, the number of purchases of new clothing fell by 10%, while the average receipt amount rose by 9% year-on-year.

Over the past year, the median salary for dentists in russia has fallen by 10%. The reason is a 30% drop in demand for dental services, which has already made clinics begin laying off staff.

The cost of a voluntary health insurance policy in russia has risen by 12% over the past year. Over the last five years, the average cost of a policy has more than doubled. Medical inflation remains the main reason for this increase.

russia has postponed the issue of aircraft carriers construction until the 2040s. In the mid-2010s, the ministry of defence promised to begin construction of at least one aircraft carrier by 2025 and to transfer it to the fleet by the end of 2030.

russian universities have received an unofficial directive to reduce the enrollment of male applicants in order to ensure the autumn draft. To this end, it is proposed to raise the cutoff scores for state-funded spots, reduce the number of spots reserved for students eligible for preferential treatment, and tighten the review of entrance exam results and individual achievements. These measures will increase the number of men who will not receive a student deferment and will be drafted into the army.

Nearly 5,000 people were subjected to political repression in russia in 2025.

About 850,000 russians were affected by emergencies during the first six months of 2026. Besides, between January and June 2026, 156 people died in different  regions of russia, which is one and a half times more than in the first half of last year. The total number of recorded incidents rose by 24% to 146 cases.

Since the beginning of 2026, the number of attempts at illegal migration from belarus to the EU has exceeded 10,000.

Lithuania detects dozens of attempts to smuggle migrants through tunnels from belarus. Lithuanian border guards are convinced that belarusian officials are involved in this matter.

In January–May 2026, the rb’s foreign trade deficit amounted to $138.3 million.

The number of unprofitable enterprises in belarus’ agricultural sector increased 1.5-fold over the year.