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

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, during a meeting with putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, called for “an end to the endless war” in Ukraine. “…We need an end to the war, not a war without end… We need to move from endless war to an ​end to the war, ​to a cessation ⁠of hostilities. And we will need to move precisely in this direction. This is very important for all of humanity. We must resolve all problems through peaceful means; this is what all of humanity demands,” Modi emphasized. According to him, New Delhi will support all peaceful efforts to end the hostilities.

US Secretary of the  Treasury Scott Bessent, during a meeting with his russian counterpart anton siluanov on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial summit, called on russia to end the war against Ukraine. At the same time, he stressed that moscow should not expect any easing of economic pressure as long as the war against Ukraine continues.

“We are indeed working actively to unblock the European Peace Fund. So, if this happens in the coming days, many member states have already stated that they will transfer all funds returned to them to Ukraine,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy  Kaja Kallas, adding that the funds will be spent on air defense systems for our country. She also called on EU member states to provide Ukraine with the interceptor missiles it needs, particularly those nearing the end of their shelf life.

“Recognizing Ukraine’s extraordinary needs and the situation on the ground – we are well aware that Ukraine has very serious needs in order to be able to deter further aggression. We are currently focused on what is already a very ambitious plan. That is where our attention is focused right now,” said European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho, speaking about the prospects for funding our country. She emphasized that the EU loan for 2026–2027 remains the main channel for the allocation of funds.

“We have a window of opportunity lasting six to nine months. Ukraine is currently repulsing  russia, striking back, and launching counterattacks. And we, Europe, must speed up  our support for Ukraine,” said Minister of Defence of Lithuania Robertas Kaunas.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence of Germany Sebastian Hartmann has pointed out  that his country must do everything possible to support Ukraine, in particular by ramping up production of necessary military equipment, as russia continues to escalate the conflict and intensify its terror campaign.

London has stepped up pressure on shadow financial networks linked to the russian economy and doubled the maximum fines for sanctions violations, as reported by  United Kingdom Finance Minister John Healey. The maximum fine that the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) can impose has been increased from 50% to 100% of the value of the illegal transactions.

The European External Action Service (the EU’s diplomatic service) has drawn up new sanctions lists targeting 10 additional individuals and 17 organizations it considers to be involved in the illegal transfer, russification, ideological indoctrination, and militarized upbringing of Ukrainian children. The list of proposed targets includes, in particular, the “songdowon” international children’s camp in wonsan (dprk) and rustam minnikhanov, president of tatarstan.

The American oil company North American Blue Energy Partners will gain control over a number of oil fields in Venezuela that were previously managed by Chinese and russian companies.

Starting in September, emails from russian servers and addresses with the.ru domain will no longer be delivered directly to Estonian government agencies. They will be automatically redirected to a quarantine for verification. Minister of Justice and Digital Technologies Liisa Pakosta has stated that this decision is intended to protect Estonian institutions from cyberattacks.

The Turkish operator Akkon sent an urgent notice to its partners announcing that it was completely discontinuing operations to russian ports. Akkon is a major carrier whose services were used by many companies, especially after the russian company “fesco” stopped operating voyages across the Black Sea in early August.

Given that russians withdrew 2.1 trillion rubles from banks in the first seven months of this year, the cash outflow will total another 1.6 trillion rubles by the end of the year, by the end of 2027 – another 3.6 trillion, and by the end of 2028 – 5.2 trillion rubles. Thus, over three years, the amount of cash in circulation could increase by 7.3 trillion rubles, the regulator expects, as forecasted by the central bank.

Production volumes in russia’s industrial sector declined in August amid weak demand. Due to a drop in customer orders, both production volumes and the number of new orders fell. The business activity index in russia’s manufacturing sector fell to 48.8 in August from 50.7 in July. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in business activity.

The combined wealth of russia’s richest businesspeople has decreased by $19.77 billion since the beginning of 2026.

In russia, one in five coal companies could close over the next five years due to the crisis in the industry.

In the rf, telecommunications companies began closing by hundreds following the government’s decision to tighten control over the industry. As of August 2026, approximately 700 companies had exited the market. Compared to August 2019, the number of telecommunications operators had fallen by about one-third.

Bars in russian cities with populations of over one million began closing en masse as russians shifted to a frugal lifestyle. The largest number of establishments ceased operations in Moscow – 14% – and Krasnodar – 10%. Pubs and bars began closing on the heels of cafes and restaurants.

In the first half of 2026, russia’s largest oil company – which accounts for every other barrel produced in the country – ended the period with a decline in net profit. Over six months, “rosneft” earned by 18% less than a year earlier. At the end of the second quarter, profits fell by 26%. “rosneft”’s net profit has been declining for the third consecutive year: last year it was by 73% lower than in 2024, and in 2024 it fell by 14% compared to 2023.

russia’s largest gold miner, “polyus”, saw its profit drop by 59% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year.

Automaker “kamaz” reported a net loss of 21.8 billion rubles for the first half of 2026.

The russian retail chain “m.video” has shrunk by more than 40% over the past year.

The zelenograd-based microchip manufacturer “angstrem” suffered multimillion-ruble losses. According to its half-year results, this strategic enterprise incurred losses of 112 million rubles.

In russia, prices for back-to-school flower bouquets have risen by 9–12% over the past year.

The cost of sugar in russia has risen by 17.8% over the past year.

russian authorities have decided that no chicken should escape the watchful eye of the state, so starting in September 2026, mandatory state registration and labeling will be introduced there – even for poultry kept at home. Rural residents with flocks of more than 10 birds will have to count their laying hens and report them to the authorities.

In 2026, kamchatka expects to catch 55,000 tons of fish – five times less than the previous year and nearly 2.5 times less than the planned figures.

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, agricultural producers are forced to sell grain from the new harvest below cost: the price per kilogram of wheat this year is 12–15 rubles, while they sometimes manage to sell it for as little as 10 rubles.

Imports of perfume products to russia in January–July of this year fell by 10.7%.

Starting October 1, russia is set to implement its second utility rate adjustment of the year. Depending on the region, bills may rise by 8–22%.

In Latvia, a ban on the import of a number of goods produced in russia and belarus took effect on September 1. The ban applies not only to direct imports but also to shipments of goods from third countries. The list of banned goods includes books, newspapers, and other printed materials; clothing; footwear; headwear; toys; games; and sports equipment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania has once again warned citizens against traveling to belarus after a Lithuanian tour operator was sentenced to prison there on charges of extremism.

The buffer zone on the Polish-belarusian border has been extended for another three months – from September 1 to November 29, 2026.

Exports of belarusian goods to Germany in January–June of this year fell by 47.4% compared to the same period in 2025 – to EUR 15.882 million. Earlier, lukashenko stated that belarus’ main problem at present is finding new markets for domestic products, which, “for certain objective reasons”, cannot be sold in russia.

belarus’ trade deficit in goods with countries outside the CIS has exceeded $5.3 billion.

Credit risks for belarusian banks rose by 13% over the year and exceeded 130 billion belarusian rubles.

One of belarus’ retail chains, “dnc-market” LLC, began liquidation proceedings. The decision to cease operations was made in August 2026. For 2025, “dnc-market” ended the year with a net loss of 633,000 belarusian rubles.

Over the past three years, the number of schoolchildren in belarus has decreased by 65,000, the number of first-formers has decreased by 23,000.