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

The European Commission plans to allocate approximately EUR 20 billion in unused loans to launch a call for project proposals for the EU and Ukraine. “The goal of this second call for proposals is to do more together with Ukraine – both in Ukraine and in the EU, for Ukraine’s benefit as well as our own – given Ukraine’s leading role in defense innovation,” said European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius.

The Pentagon has contracted 99.8% of the $400 million that Congress allocated for aid to Ukraine: $200 million for weapons, ammunition, and explosives; $99.9 million – for vehicles, spare parts, and equipment; and $100 million – for services such as the transportation of military equipment.

The European Union has announced the allocation of EUR 10 million to build shelters throughout Ukraine.

The European Commission and Ukraine have agreed on measures to cover the country’s budgetary needs through the end of 2026. “Today, thanks to coordinated joint efforts, we have identified measures to cover Ukraine’s budgetary and defense needs for 2026,” the parties stated.

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office has announced a new package of sanctions against russia. The measures include sanctions against vessels in the “shadow fleet” used to transport LNG, the kremlin’s disinformation networks, and individuals involved in the torture of civilians and the ideological indoctrination of children.

The EU intends to expand its naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea to counter russia’s “shadow fleet” and protect undersea infrastructure.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna has announced that his country has banned the transit of russian and belarusian grain through its territory in response to russia’s blockade of grain exports from Ukraine.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has proposed not recognizing the new state duma of the rf as a democratically elected parliament or a legitimate governing body. The Assembly has also called for limiting contacts with the new duma and imposing sanctions against the organizers of the russian elections.

“putin knows he will never be able to defeat NATO, so I don’t take this all that seriously,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding putin’s nuclear threats.

“We strongly condemn threats of force, including any irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” said NATO Spokesperson Allison Hart in response to an unofficial russian document (non-paper) regarding potential threats to its kaliningrad region from Alliance member states.

“russia’s economy is on the brink of a major crisis caused by military spending, international sanctions, and Ukrainian strikes on russian energy infrastructure,” reads an assessment by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service.

The government of Lithuania has approved a draft law prohibiting citizens of russia and belarus from purchasing real estate in areas located near strategically important facilities, even if they hold a residence permit. belarusian citizens without a residence permit will also be prohibited from purchasing real estate, while such a ban was already provided for in a previous draft law  regarding russian citizens.

Lithuania’s government has also approved a proposal to ban belarusian and russian artists and other cultural figures from performing in the country if they have worked in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The Czech Supreme Administrative Court rejected an appeal filed by a russian company that manages foreign assets under the presidential administration regarding the freezing of 61 real estate properties. The company has been added to the sanctions list in connection with russia’s war against Ukraine.

russian exports to Türkiye – which ranks third among moscow’s largest foreign trade partners – have plummeted amid the virtual shutdown of ports in the south. In August, in dollar terms, this figure fell by nearly 41% compared to the previous month – from $3.23 billion to $1.93 billion – marking the lowest level since 2022.

Exports of russian diesel fuel and gas oil via the Black Sea fell to zero in the week ending September 24 for the first time in recorded history. In 2025, Black Sea ports shipped an average of about 200,000 tons per week.

Federal budget expenditures not related to the military, weapons production, law enforcement agencies, and interest payments on the national debt will be cut next year to their lowest level in two decades. Next year, 17.1 trillion rubles will be allocated to the “national defense” budget line – 35% of total spending – setting a new record since the days of the ussr. To fund the military budget, key civilian spending categories will face a sequester of 900 billion rubles. Spending on social assistance for citizens will decrease by 7% compared to the current budget law; spending on education will decrease by 6%; on healthcare – by 6.8%; and on environmental protection – by 5.8%. For 2028, the ministry of finance of the rf has planned an additional spending cut of 2 trillion rubles.

The federal project to fight cancer has fallen victim to budget cuts, which will reduce spending on key civilian programs next year. Funding for the project – which was intended to purchase equipment for hospitals and clinics, provide medication for cancer patients, and develop early diagnosis – will be decreased 12-fold in 2027. This year, 44.896 billion rubles have been allocated for it; next year – only 3.873 billion. In the 2025 budget, funding for the project amounted to 148.46 billion rubles. Thus, over two years, federal budget spending on fighting cancer will be decreased 38 times.

The financial situation of russian companies continues to deteriorate. Compared to last year, russian business revenues have fallen by 15.7%, and when adjusted for inflation, real profits have decreased by 21%. Over the first seven months, they nearly halved (decreased by 44%) of what they were in 2021.

Since the beginning of 2026, the wealth of russia’s richest businesspeople has fallen by $23.6 billion.

Potatoes topped the list of food items that saw the sharpest price increases in russia over the past year. As of the end of August, the average retail price was 59.1 rubles per kilogram – by 35.3% higher than last year.

More than 50% of the communication lines that carry internet traffic in russia have exceeded their guaranteed 25-year service life and need to be replaced. From 2020 through 2030, russia will need to replace more than 400,000 km of cable that has been in service for over 20 years. At a cost of about 1 million rubles per kilometer, this amounts to approximately 400 billion rubles.

russian authorities have begun forcing residents of major cities to pay for bomb shelter equipment out of their own pockets.

The government of the rf has authorized utility rate increases above the planned level in six regions, effective October 1. The maximum average index was raised the most in kemerovo region – from 12% to 19.8%. In yakutia, the rate rose from 15% to 18.9%; in mari el – from 9.4% to 14.9%; in the krasnodar territory – from 9.6% to 13.7%, in buryatia – from 8.9% to 12.3%, and in volgograd region – from 9.4% to 11.2%.

Besides, the government of the rf has increased by one-third its plan to collect fines from the public and businesses to replenish the federal budget. From 2026 through 2029, the government plans to collect a record 1.696 trillion rubles in fines, penalties, and compensation for damages.

The government has also submitted a draft law to the state duma to increase fines under several tens of  articles of the code of administrative offenses. The draft law provides for changes to fines under 29 articles of the code of administrative offenses. The largest increase is planned for the production and distribution of “extremist materials”: fines for citizens will rise from 1,000 –3,000 to 50,000 –100,000 rubles.

The government of saratov region has changed the procedure for payments to the families of those killed in the war against Ukraine – regional compensation payments are being reduced tenfold. Previously, they amounted to 1 million rubles, but starting November 1, they will be 100,000 rubles. However, it has been decided to incentivize convicts who agree to sign a contract with the ministry of defense and go to the “special military operation”. For signing the contract, they will be paid 450,000 rubles each and will also be released from custody. For recruiters who help bring volunteers to military commissariats, it was decided to postpone the two-fold reduction in payments. “Recruiters” will continue to receive 300,000 rubles for each new volunteer contract soldier.

Officials of st. petersburg are set to receive pay raises over the next three years amid large-scale cuts to the city budget. Officials’ salaries will increase by up to 5% annually. These pay raises are planned against the background of sharp cuts to other expenditures. st. petersburg’s 2026 budget will be cut by 70.2 billion rubles. The “economy” category will suffer the greatest loss – 36.7 billion rubles. Transportation spending will be cut by 9 billion, and another 10.8 billion will be cut from the construction of the high-speed motorway. Education will lose 15.5 billion rubles. Spending on housing and utilities will be cut by approximately 6.8 billion rubles. There will be a shortfall of 2.3 billion rubles for urban improvement and 1.9 billion rubles – for road repairs. The healthcare committee will lose 8.5 billion rubles. Along with officials’ salaries, payments to “special military operation” participants and their families will increase by 6.4 billion rubles.

Due to electricity debts, tram service has been suspended in the city of osinniki (kuzbass), which has a population of 40,000. Bears periodically venture into the city – they have even been spotted near a school.

novosibirsk has canceled bus routes to kemerovo region. Specifically, bus service to novokuznetsk, prokopyevsk, kiselevsk, leninsk-kuznetsky, belovo, and sheregesh has been suspended. The reason for the mass cancellations was significant debt.

Most of the rf’s largest rivers – the volga, ob, yenisei, don, and amur, as well as their tributaries – retain the status of water bodies with “dirty” water quality. This is stated in a report published by the ministry of natural resources of the rf. Municipal and industrial wastewater remain the main sources of pollution.