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

Ukraine has received EUR 3.3 billion as part of a EUR 90 billion loan program from the European Union. The funds will be allocated to priority defense needs, including the purchase of missiles and drones.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has stated that she is working with the governments of EU member states to allocate an additional EUR 1 billion to Ukraine for military needs. These funds may be allocated from the European Peace Fund.

The European Union and Canada are conducting technical negotiations regarding Ottawa’s participation in the EUR 90 billion European loan package to support Ukraine.

The government of the USA is prepared to authorize the transfer to Ukraine of ten interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense systems – an initiative launched by the German government.

“Romania supports the accession of Ukraine, Serbia, and Moldova to the EU, and we would be very happy to share our experience on how to achieve membership and what we did after joining,” said President of Romania Nicușor Dan.

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk has stated that Warsaw will continue to advocate for greater sanctions pressure on russia.

putin is increasingly provoking Ukraine’s European allies to divert attention from the hopeless situation on the battlefield, but Ukraine’s allies should not react to this. This was stated by Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni.

“…The trend continues: russia is losing more troops on the battlefield than it is able to recruit,” said Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center.

President of Poland Karol Nawrocki has stated that russia’s hybrid war may be a prelude to further military aggression. “russia continues to provoke because russia does not change.”

russia is not as powerful a military force as some tend to believe; however, its capabilities and willingness to take risks should not be underestimated. This was stated by Minister of Defence of Sweden Paul Jonsson.

The term of collective protection for Ukrainian refugees in Norway will be extended until 2027.

Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal has stated that in case of a change in the threat assessment – specifically, a mobilization in russia – the government is prepared to immediately close the border.

The government of Hungary has stated that it is capable of meeting the European Union’s requirements to completely phase out russian gas within a year. This was stated by Minister of Energy of Hungary István Kapitány.

Switzerland has condemned russia’s organization of voting in russian elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Lithuania will block 12 websites where users could watch programs from the russian propaganda agency “sputnik”. “Sanctions must be effective in practice, not just on paper. If content from a program banned in the EU is posted on other distribution channels and becomes available again to Lithuanian users, we must respond,” said head of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) Mantas Martišius.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže has decided to add russia’s most famous hockey player, aleksandr ovechkin, as well as oligarch umar kremlev, a close associate of president putin, to Latvia’s list of undesirable persons.

The United Kingdom and 37 OSCE countries have called for the release of all political prisoners in belarus and an end to the repression of civil society, independent media, and opposition figures. As of September 18, 886 people in belarus have been recognized as political prisoners.

“Riga considers it necessary to maintain political and sanctions pressure on minsk and supports the expansion and strengthening of EU sanctions,” said Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs.

“Armenia does not need a russian military base located on its territory,” said Prime Minister of the Republic Nikol Pashinyan. “We don’t need this military base… If they want to remove it, let them remove it – let them remove it tomorrow. If they want to stay, we are ready to discuss the terms for keeping the base, which we do not need,” Pashinyan said.

The government of Poland has extended the temporary suspension of the right to file applications for international protection at the border with belarus for another 60 days.

By mid-September, the petrol shortage in russia had worsened: nearly half of all filling stations have no fuel. Specifically, AI-92 is unavailable at 45% of filling stations, and the more expensive AI-95 – at 53%. For comparison: at the end of August, these figures stood at 33% and 38%, respectively. At the same time, the number of filling stations with lines and restrictions on fuel sales is growing. Over the past week, the share of filling stations with sales limits reached 11–12%, compared to an average of 3.2% in August. Queues are observed at 20–27% of filling stations.

A second wave of petrol price increases has begun in russia. Fuel prices are rising fastest in the Caucasus and tyumen region.

Sales of used passenger cars in russia fell by 8.4% in August compared to last year. Dealers attribute this to the fuel crisis.

russian marketplaces lost 400 million orders and 400 billion rubles.

Sellers on “ozon” have complained about low insurance payouts for destroyed goods. Many received only a few hundred rubles.

The cost of turnkey renovations of central offices in russia has nearly tripled since 2021 – from 59,000 to 171,000 rubles per square meter, excluding VAT. The reasons include economic pressures, inflation, the restructuring of logistics chains, and changes in tax legislation. Since the beginning of this year, the increase has already exceeded 13%.

In July, shipments of perfumes from the European Union to russia fell by 37% year-on-year, while cosmetics shipments – by 16%.

Demand for franchises in russia continues to decline. Over the past eight months, the number of inquiries about opening such businesses was by 24% lower than in 2025. Among the main categories, the food service sector was hit the hardest – by nearly a third. Retail and the service sector each lost 27%.

In the city of moscow and moscow region, only one food hall has opened since the beginning of 2026. Foot traffic at dining establishments in moscow has fallen by 8% this year.

The salmon catch in kamchatka turned out to be poor. The catch totaled about 55,000 tons, which is five times less than last year and nearly 2.5 times below the target figures. According to market participants, this is the lowest result in the last 50 years.

Retail trade took first place in terms of labor demand in russia, having overtaken manufacturing and construction, which had led the way for the previous two years.

In the first half of 2026, russia’s regions faced a wave of layoffs in the public sector. Over the course of six months, 4,300 employees in the healthcare and social services sectors were laid off due to staff reductions. Another 161,300 submitted resignation letters “of own accord”. In total, 185,300 people left healthcare and social service organizations. A total of 165,900 people were hired. Thus, the total number of employees in this sector decreased by 19,300 over the course of six months.

In russia, 167 medical facilities closed over the past six months.

russians will face internet restrictions during the election period due to “security measures”.

In tyumen, pharmacies have been advised to restrict the sale of green antiseptic, iodine, and other coloring agents during the elections.

One in two russians over the age of 50 experiences memory problems.

Over the past 10 years, 16 consulates have closed in st. petersburg, 13 of them – since 2022.