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

The European Commission has transferred EUR 3.47 billion to Ukraine as part of the defence component of a EUR 90-billion support loan program. Of these funds, EUR 2.5 billion will be used to purchase 16 Swedish-made Gripen E aircraft for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

European Commission Spokesperson Balázs Ujvári has stated that by the end of 2026, the European Union is set to disburse an additional approximately EUR 20 billion to Ukraine, with new tranches potentially arriving as early as the coming weeks. “This will be a very busy summer for both sides, both in Ukraine and here at the European Commission. We have no intention of taking a summer break on this matter. You can expect more production schedules to be reviewed – and more payments to be made in the coming weeks and months,” Ujvári pointed out.

The EU Council has approved changes to the Ukraine Facility support mechanism and the related Ukraine Plan, which outlines the reforms necessary to receive funding. These changes provide for additional funding of EUR 8.3 billion for 2026, to be provided through the Ukraine Support Loan.

The EBRD will provide a EUR 50 million loan to support Kyiv’s energy sector ahead of the upcoming heating season.

France and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their strong support for Ukraine and their plans to intensify pressure on the russian military machine, in particular by fighting  russia’s “shadow fleet”.

“In my opinion, despite a few exceptions, the 21st  package remains an important step in increasing economic pressure on russia and fighting sanctions evasion,” said Dutch lawyer, an expert on sanctions against russia,  Helen Over de Linden.

“These attacks only strengthen our resolve and demonstrate that Europe must increase pressure on the kremlin. Every missed opportunity to tighten sanctions and further isolate russia sends the wrong signal. “russia must face increasing political, economic, and diplomatic isolation until it ends its war, withdraws its troops from Ukraine, and is held fully accountable,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of  Estonia Margus Tsahkna.

“Poland’s security depends directly and unequivocally on the effective actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, particularly in the air. If the Ukrainians had had much more of what they’ve been asking for all along, perhaps that missile wouldn’t have been launched toward Poland,” said Prime Minister of Poland  Donald Tusk, who believes that the next 100 days could determine the outcome of russia’s war against Ukraine.

“It’s just a few meters that separate us from this war, and this night proves once again – not to those sitting at this table, not to the commanders, not to the firefighters, not to the police – but to all of us, once again, that the situation is very serious,” said Minister of Defence of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz regarding the incident involving a russian missile that fell on Poland’s  territory.

Greece has begun to deny Schengen visas to russians on a massive scale.

The Pacific nation of Nauero (formerly Nauru) has severed diplomatic relations with the quasi-states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Now, only four UN member states – russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria – recognize the “independence” of those temporarily occupied territories of Georgia.

The World Gold Council has released statistics on demand and supply in the gold market for the second quarter. According to the organization, the bank of russia reduced its reserves of the precious metal by 22 tons and became its largest seller during the reporting period.

According to the ministry of economic development,  russia’s economy ended the first half of 2026 with 0.3% growth. Compared to the same period last year (1.2%), the pace of economic growth slowed fourfold, and compared to the second half of last year (0.9%), it slowed threefold.

“sberbank” reports a shortage of ruble liquidity in the russian interbank market due to a record outflow of funds into cash. Since the beginning of July, the amount of cash in circulation has increased by nearly 600 billion rubles.

head of the russian union of industrialists and entrepreneurs shokhin has  stated that the rf’s  central bank’s high key rate will lead to business bankruptcies this autumn.

For the first time since 2021, russia’s economy has seen a decline in the number of entrepreneurs working in the e-commerce sector. In the first half of the year, the number of companies specializing in online commerce fell by 4.9%. The number of new business start-ups plummeted by 25% over six months. Meanwhile, the number of business liquidations jumped by 19.6%.

The increase in insurance premiums for shipments across the Black Sea led to a rise in the discount on Urals crude at novorossiysk by $1.10 per week – to $26.60 per barrel. The “instability” of shipping also triggered an exodus of some shipowners.

In January–May, the volume of clothing and footwear purchases in russia fell by 10%, and in some segments – by 15%. This is due to consumers’ desire to save money amid rising prices. Consumers are reallocating the budgets they had set aside for updating their wardrobes toward buying secondhand items.

russia’s largest retailer of children’s goods – “detsky mir” – has begun asking shopping centers to offer rent discounts ranging from 10% to 50%. The chain has about 1,500 shops nationwide. In 2025, “detsky mir” reported a net loss of 7.8 billion rubles, compared to a profit of 57.2 billion rubles the previous year.

russian wine production in January–June fell by 12.6–14% compared to the same period last year. Consumers have begun actively cutting back on spending, and demand has started to decline.

In the first half of 2026, by 43 people more were convicted in russia on national security charges than during the same period last year. However, only 4% of all those implicated had actual access to state secrets. Since the beginning of 2022, charges of “treason”,  “espionage”, and “collaboration with foreign states” have been brought against at least 1,904 defendants.

russians have begun searching en masse for information on how to avoid mobilization. The main topics of their searches include deferments, obtaining a “D” fitness category, and ways to leave russia.