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

The United Kingdom has announced the allocation of 54 million pounds sterling ($71.3 million) to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience ahead of winter.

President of Finland Alexander Stubb has approved the delivery of the 35th military aid package to Ukraine. “We have received an urgent request for support from Ukraine, to which we are responding with this accelerated, targeted action. Finland will not turn a blind eye to the difficult situation of Ukrainians, but will continue to support them and provide defense material assistance” – pointed out Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

President of the European Council António Costa expects the European Union to open two negotiation clusters on Ukraine’s EU accession as early as next week, with the remaining clusters to follow by the end of this year.

European partners will join the Ukrainian negotiating team on ending the war against Ukraine, which will be in the USA on October 9–10.

At the European Council summit on October 15–16 in Brussels, EU leaders will hold a strategic discussion on EU enlargement and internal reforms, discuss further support for Ukraine, and address countering russia’s hybrid attacks.

Training for Ukrainian pilots to fly French Rafale fighter jets will begin in November in France.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution refusing to recognize the new state duma as a legitimate representative and legislative body of the rf. It described the recent elections there as unfree and unfair. Members of Parliament have pointed to the absence of genuine political competition, free media, and independent observers, and condemned the holding of the vote in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The European Parliament has called on EU countries to refrain from official contacts with the new state duma and its members and to expand sanctions against individuals involved in repression and the war in Ukraine.

The leaders of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have written a letter to President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, calling for a ban on the transit of russian grain through EU territory.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul, amid suspicions of an outbreak of pneumonic plague in russia, has not ruled out imposing travel restrictions to protect Europe: “We cannot and will not take any risks”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania has updated its travel advisories for russia, adding a warning about possible cases of pneumonic plague in irkutsk region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna is convinced that russia is already attacking Europe, and this can no longer be ignored. “We cannot simply ignore these attacks and say that they are just an incident or a hybrid attack,” he emphasized.

The US Department of State has once again included belarus on its list of countries that engage in human trafficking. In addition to belarus, Washington has included Afghanistan, Iran, Cambodia, China, North Korea, Cuba, Myanmar, russia, Sudan, and South Sudan on the list.

The default rate in russia’s corporate bond market has doubled. The total amount of bond defaults has amounted to 6.3 billion rubles.

From January through September 2026, 28,000 companies and sole proprietorships operating in the food service industry were liquidated across russia. This is by 15% more than during the same period last year. Restaurant operators are increasingly closing their establishments due to rising tax burdens and operating costs, as well as declining customer traffic.

The credit rating of the “samolet” group, which tops the list of major russian residential developers, will be downgraded to negative. The reason is the group’s large debt burden, which exceeded 1 trillion rubles in the first half of 2026.

The selection of laptops from brands that have left the country has begun to shrink on the russian market. The number of Dell, HP, and Apple models available in russia has already decreased by approximately 10%. Plus, due to new procedures for obtaining certificates of conformity for laptops and small electronics – which have been in effect since August 2026 – some models have become scarce.

russian dentists are importing foreign materials through unofficial channels to avoid switching to alternative Chinese options.

The russian retail chain “pyaterochka” has introduced an option for customers to pay for groceries in installments.

russian companies have begun to stop paying annual bonuses to employees amid the economic crisis and difficult financial circumstances. According to the results for 2026, nearly half of organizations – 46.9% – will not pay bonuses to employees, while another 20.4% have postponed decisions on payments indefinitely.

In russia, the number of job openings in agribusiness increased by 19% over the past year. The north caucasus, southern, and far eastern federal districts led the way in terms of job growth.

The number of delays of two hours or more for scheduled passenger flights in russia during the first nine months of 2026 doubled compared to the same period in 2025.

Authorities in the transbaikal territory have declared a state of heightened readiness due to foot-and-mouth disease.

In belgorod, the municipal transit operator “unified transport company” is delaying salary payments to drivers: the regional government owes the company money for government contracts. The company’s accounts have been frozen for nonpayment of taxes. Additionally, due to a lack of funds and the deterioration of equipment, the bus fleet has begun to shrink.

49% of russians showed the signs  of depression, 33% – of anxiety, and 36% – symptoms of severe anxiety and depression.

Over the past 30 years, the rural population of belarus has declined by 42.1%.