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

Canada has announced sanctions against the defense manufacturer “Streit Group” for supplying products to the russian military-industrial complex. “Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and people of Ukraine, who continue to defend their country and their rights in the face of russia’s brutal aggression,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand in a statement.

Sweden’s Security Service (Säpo) has uncovered a russian intelligence operation aimed at discrediting the country. According to Säpo, russian intelligence recruited an agent at a foreign diplomatic mission to obtain information regarding “the decision-making process within Sweden’s central government” and the Kingdom’s relations with other countries. Besides, a russian couple was detained in the Swedish city of Gävle after setting up camp near a house linked to CEO of the defense company Saab Micael Johansson.

The Austrian counterintelligence agency DSN has uncovered an international network that was used to circumvent EU sanctions against russia by supplying high-tech industrial equipment to defense industry enterprises linked to the russian state corporation “rostec”. “It is unacceptable for high-precision European technologies to be diverted into the production of cruise missiles and air defense systems,” said State Secretary at the Austrian Ministry of the Interior Jörg Leichtfried.

Chairman of the Bundestag’s (Germany) parliamentary oversight committee Mark Heinrichmann (CDU) is proposing to grant German intelligence agencies the authority to carry out preemptive cyberattacks against russian drone manufacturers.

Export prices for russian wheat continued to fall last week under pressure from rising freight rates, while shipments from southern ports slowed significantly amid risks to shipping in the Black Sea. The price per ton of new-crop russian wheat with a 12.5% protein content, delivered on a free-on-board (FOB) basis to novorossiysk in the first half of August, fell by $6 at the end of last week compared to the previous week – to $220 per ton. Freight rates rose by an average of $10 per ton last week.

Wheat exports from russia in August may total 3.0–3.4 million tons – the lowest figure since the 2016/17 season.

russians are increasingly using accounts with foreign brokerage firms to withdraw money from russia. Such transfers have risen significantly since the end of 2024. From December 2024 through June, russian households transferred nearly 600 billion rubles to the accounts of non-resident brokers. In April–June, these transfers totaled 42.3–45.5 billion rubles, or more than $500 million per month.

After a hiatus of several years, russian citizens have once again begun systematically buying up foreign currency in cash. In June, russians were net buyers of cash foreign currency totaling 54.9 billion rubles; in May, the figure was 52.2 billion; and in April – 51.8 billion.

The number of bankruptcy cases filed against russian construction companies in the first half of 2026 rose by 37% compared to the same period last year.

russian footwear manufacturers are reducing production: in the first half of this year, production volume fell by 12.4% compared to last year.

In the rf, sales of ice cream in bricks weighing 400 g or more fell by 93% in volume terms during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. In monetary terms, sales of this dessert decreased by 87%.

The growth rate of courier services in russia has fallen sharply. In the first half of 2026, the courier services market grew by only 8.8%, whereas a year earlier, the growth rate was nearly four times higher – 33.4%.

In russia, the cost of cancer treatment has risen significantly due to higher prices for anticancer medicines, increased costs for importing them into the country, and general inflation in the healthcare sector. Over the past two years, the cost of cancer care has risen by 18% overall. Since the beginning of 2026 alone, treatment for gastrointestinal cancer has become by 83% more expensive, skin cancer – by 47%, uterine cancer – by 33%, and prostate cancer – by 22%.

russia has seen a halt in the expansion of its range of medications.

The board of directors of the russian aluminum giant “rusal” has recommended not paying dividends for the first half of 2026.

Net profit for the “t-technologies” group – the parent company of “t-bank” and its affiliate “rosbank” – declined by 15% in the second quarter of 2026.

The share of comfort-class new construction projects within moscow has hit a historic low. As of early August 2026, it had fallen by 8.4% year-on-year – to 22.9%. This is the lowest figure in the history of market observations. Analysts point out a significant decline in the share of the most affordable housing: a month ago, the share of mass-market new construction stood at 23.3%; a year ago, it was 31.3%; and three years ago, it was 42.1%. Developers are not bringing new mass-market projects to the primary market due to a sharp decline in their profitability amid rising construction costs and a loss of customers.

Western sanctions, scientific isolation, and the departure of leading foreign companies have led to a sharp reduction in the flow of advanced technologies and inventions from abroad into russia. In 2025, “rospatent” received only 4,701 patent applications for inventions from foreign applicants. The number of applications filed by non-residents – who bring their know-how to russia to legally import technology, protect it from copying, and sell licenses for the russian market – declined by another 9.5% over the year and by nearly 60% compared to pre-war 2021. The total number of invention applications from foreigners has fallen to its lowest level since at least the 1990s.

In belarus, at least 37 people have died since 2020 as a result of repression. This figure includes deaths in prisons, deaths after release from prison, suicides, deaths under suspicious circumstances, and deaths resulting from the indiscriminate use of weapons by security forces.