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

The government of Germany will provide EUR 50 million for the restoration of the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was damaged by a russian drone.

“…We must fully integrate Ukraine into Euro-Atlantic and European structures, starting with full EU membership by 2030. Ukraine’s place is in the European family, and its path toward European and Euro-Atlantic integration must remain our strategic priority,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys in response to yet another russian attack on Ukraine.

“russia and its leadership must be held accountable for this war of aggression and the damage it has caused. Finland stands in solidarity with Ukraine,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen regarding the rf’s airstrike against Ukraine on the night of August 20.

“russia’s campaign of terror knows no bounds. Its goal is to cause destruction, instill fear, and systematically destroy civilian life. Our support for Ukraine must remain unwavering – politically, militarily, and economically,” emphasized Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna regarding the russian airstrike against Ukraine on the night of August 20.

The International Register of Damages for Ukraine has opened the possibility of submitting claims for compensation in new categories. These categories pertain to the damage to or destruction of residential real estate – residential premises, common areas; damage to or destruction of public buildings and structures; damage to or destruction of non-residential real estate.

“As for the elections, it is up to Ukraine to decide when to hold them, in full compliance with its legal framework,” said European Commission Spokesperson Anitta Hipper regarding the EU’s position.

The European Commission has announced that in the coming weeks it will update and distribute to member states operational guidelines on the application of the new rules for granting Ukrainians temporary protection in the EU, which took effect on August 5.

russia and other hostile actors pose not only a direct military threat but also hybrid threats to countries, including neutral ones. This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul.

More than three-quarters of Germans surveyed believe that russia’s influence on politics in the country  is dangerous. This is evidenced by the results of the ZDF television channel’s Politbarometer survey for August.

Latvia’s Central Statistical Bureau has begun publishing on its website a monthly list of companies registered in the country that export goods to russia or belarus or import goods from those countries.

Trade volumes between russia and the European Union in the first half of 2026 fell to their lowest level this century – to EUR 26.9 billion – by another 13% lower than the previous year.

The moscow credit bank, which has close ties to “rosneft”, has faced a growing wave of delinquent loan payments. As of July, the bank – which ranks among the top 10 by assets and is designated as systemically important – had 14.8% of all issued loans in default, a rate five times higher than the banking system average. In total, customers failed to repay 277 billion rubles to “mkb” on time. Over the past year, the volume of non-performing loans at the bank has increased by 1,716%.

russian banks have begun to demand from citizens to purchase insurance against the risk of drone strikes on real estate secured under mortgage agreements. Banks have also begun reducing mortgage discounts and introducing rate surcharges.

In the first half of 2026, “rusal” reduced its aluminum sales by 10% compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of 2026, the volume of transactions in russia’s warehouse real estate market fell by 42% compared to the same period last year.

deputy chairman of the duma committee on economic affairs stanislav naumov has stated that the owners of warehouses damaged by drones should be responsible for their restoration, not the state budget.

Foot traffic at russian shopping centers fell by an average of 4.7% in January–June 2026. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, the decline was 27%. The sharpest drop in the first half of the year was recorded in moscow and moscow region – 8.5%.

In russia, FES Retail is carrying out a large-scale downsizing, as part of which all Mo (formerly Mohito) clothing shops and the fashion chains Re, “Sin”, Cr, and Xc (formerly Reserved, Sinsay, Cropp, and House) may close.

As of August 2026, the number of coffee shops in russia’s largest cities had decreased by 3% over the past year. Among major cities, the number of coffee shops fell the most in moscow – by 15% – followed by nizhny novgorod – minus 5.4% – and novosibirsk – minus 4%.

Sugar prices have risen sharply in russia. As of August 17, the price of sugar had risen by 22.8% since the beginning of the year. This is the most significant increase among food products. By comparison, during the same period last year, sugar prices rose by only 0.04%.

The average receipt for school supplies in russia has increased by 31%.

25% of russian residents regularly experience problems with utility services – people face interruptions in heating and hot water supply. Citizens are further frustrated by the difficulty of obtaining refunds for services that were not provided or were of poor quality.

russians have begun searching en masse for petrol cans due to the second wave of the fuel crisis sweeping the country. During the week of August 12–18, the number of such searches increased fourfold.

Forced mobilization is gaining momentum in russia. New cases of men being detained and subsequently sent to fight in the war against Ukraine have been reported in udmurtia, the krasnodar territory, arkhangelsk and jewish autonomous regions, and buryatia.

In July 2026, 66% of citizens believed that “hard times” lay ahead for russia, according to a poll by the state-run “vtsiom”. Since the beginning of the year, the number of those expecting difficulties for the country in the future has risen by one-third (+16%). As a result, the level of pessimism and fear of the future in society has reached one of the highest levels in the entire modern history of the rf. Roughly the same percentage (66–67%) expected “hard times” in 1991, a few months before the collapse of the ussr.

Currently, there are only six private schools and two private kindergartens operating in belarus. This was reported by minister of education andrey ivanets.