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

The European Union has added another 1,569 russian individuals and entities to its sanctions list. The new package of sanctions is aimed at russia’s military-industrial complex. The agreed-upon lists include 826 russian companies and 743 individuals who serve as CEOs of those companies. “We are making it significantly more difficult, slower, and more expensive for russia to produce the weapons it uses to kill Ukrainians,” emphasized EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

The EU Council has added 77 individuals to the sanctions list in connection with the illegal “elections” to the state duma of the rf in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

With this new sanctions package, the European Union is increasing pressure on the russian war economy and will continue to do so until putin is ready to seriously negotiate peace in Ukraine. This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the FRG Johann Wadephul.

The EU will allocate an additional approximately EUR 3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the near future.

“We welcome an energy ceasefire, provided it is observed. So far, we have not seen any indication that russia will also abide by it,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas regarding a potential energy ceasefire. The diplomat has assured that Europe will not ease the pressure on russia.

“I think a return to energy talks with the russians is possible only if there is a genuine ceasefire on both sides. Over the past 48 hours, I have not seen an energy ceasefire on the russian side,” said President of France Emmanuel Macron.

The government of Germany has once again confirmed that diesel fuel from russia will definitely not reach Germany and that support for Ukraine “remains unchanged”.

Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal believes that Ukraine must turn russian oil refineries into “ruins”.

“With its targeted strikes on russian oil refineries, Ukraine has struck legitimate targets of the aggressor and, by imposing long-range sanctions, is effectively helping to weaken the russian war machine,” said Roderich Kiesewetter, a politician from Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union, in support of Ukraine.

“russia is stalling on the battlefield and striking civilians far behind the front lines. I have expressed our solidarity with the Ukrainian people, as well as my full support for President Zelenskyy, who is leading the fight for his people’s freedom,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk has called on European partners to consider strengthening sanctions against russia and assured that the West will not allow itself to be intimidated or dissuaded from supporting Ukraine. “russia seeks to dominate Ukraine, and we know it won’t stop there,” said Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, referring to preparations for various scenarios of potential confrontation with russia’s aggressive policies. “Nothing and no one will absolve russia of 100% responsibility for the war. Anyone who suggests that Ukraine is responsible for the war is giving a valuable gift to the aggressor, putin,” he emphasized.

The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting Ukraine and will continue to put pressure on russia through sanctions.

The European Commission, in light of concerns about sabotage and other hybrid attacks, is preparing proposals to tighten visa rules for russian citizens. The initiative is scheduled to be presented early next year.

“At the EU leaders’ summit to be held in Brussels on October 15–16, Finland will propose a ban on issuing tourist visas to citizens of the rf for travel to Europe,” said Prime Minister of the Republic Petteri Orpo.

russians may lose the opportunity to travel to Europe if the EU follows Finland’s lead and completely bans the issuance of tourist visas to them, as Finland is currently proposing to the entire bloc. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen has officially called on the EU to suspend the issuance of tourist visas to russian citizens until russia ends its war against Ukraine.

Europe must revise its approach to issuing tourist visas to russia’s citizens and develop a mechanism to ban entry for former russian military personnel who participated in the war against Ukraine in order to protect European security. This was stated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna.

“European countries must close russian consulates, restrict the movement of russian diplomats on their territory, and reduce the number of russian diplomatic personnel,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski.

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich has called on European countries to strengthen their support for Ukraine in response to russia’s hybrid attacks.

Elections in Ukraine cannot take place while the war is ongoing, so international pressure must be directed first of all at russia to force it to end the war. This was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys has stated that the EU must designate russian military intelligence as a terrorist organization.

“putin is a butcher. He is a butcher of his own people. And he is a butcher of the good people of Ukraine. He will never be our friend,” said US Senator John Kennedy.

Ukraine will soon receive a shipment of ammunition for F-16 fighter jets from Finland.

Chernihiv region has received the first 30 generators out of the 60 purchased by Latvia.

The Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (FAS USDA) has lowered its forecast for russian wheat exports in the 2026/27 season by 3 million tons in its October report; to 40 million tons – the lowest volume in the past five years and by 8 million tons less than in the 2025/2026 season.

“ozon”, russia’s second largest marketplace, which suffered billions in losses as a result of attacks on its warehouses and faced a large number of lawsuits from sellers, has announced that it will suspend access to insurance coverage under its policies.

Following a series of attacks on “yandex”’s data centers, the company’s stock fell nearly by 6% over the course of a week. Restoring “yandex”’s damaged data centers could take up to six months and require significant expenses. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has lost 25.3%.

“yandex” has also removed from its user agreement liability for non-functioning services in case of attacks.

tatarstan’s e-commerce platform “zakaz rf” has been unavailable since October 12. It went offline following drone strikes on “yandex”’s data centers.

“aeroflot” group’s passenger traffic in September fell by 4.2% year-on-year.

Net profit for russia’s 50 largest retail chains plummeted amid a deteriorating economy and russians “tightening their belts”. By the end of 2025, this figure had fallen nearly three times compared to the previous year – from 587 billion to 215 billion rubles – while the business’s profitability declined from 3.3% to 1.1%.

In russia, the number of smartphones infected with malware has risen significantly. By the end of the summer of 2026, the proportion of infected devices stood at 34% – by a third higher than in the summer of 2025. The majority of these devices run on Android and have been infected with various “trojans” (malware that hides its true purpose and masquerades as a useful or legitimate file).

In 2026, the cost of operating order pickup points in russia rose by 20%. The main reason was the increase in the tax burden.

Drivers and loaders of moscow’s rubbish trucks went on strike; the workers were dissatisfied with a twofold reduction in their wages.

Cucumbers led the list of price increases in belarus over the month. On average, their price rose by 46%. Avocados and salmon roe also made the top list of price increases – by 17.5% and by 12.9%, respectively. Fresh tomatoes became nearly by 10.3% more expensive. Among services, the biggest increases were seen in circus tickets (+26.6%), hot water supply (nearly +14%), as well as tuition at institutions of higher education (+7%) and secondary vocational schools (+6.7%).