June 26, 2022 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action

If President Joe Biden signs a resolution recognizing russia as a sponsor of terrorism, the country will be on a par with Cuba, Syria, Iran and the DPRK. Inclusion on the list causes severe economic and political sanctions from the States.

“This is a black mark for russia, almost a ban on any interaction of American companies with any legal entities, individuals of the russian federation. russia falls into the category of rogue countries, i.e. those who do not know how to conduct civilized relations, international relations. Therefore, this resolution is quite destructive for the image of the russian federation, which it seeks to create around the world”, said the Chairman of the Center for Transatlantic Dialogue, diplomat Julia Osmolovska.

“It is important for the United States to bring this case to a logical conclusion. Because if there is no justice, it will provoke a domino effect. After all, many countries are now watching how much russia will be punished for its actions. If it is a severe punishment, other countries will reduce their appetites”, the expert commented.

Under United States law, countries- sponsors of terrorism are subject to the following sanctions: restrictions on foreign aid from the United States; ban on export and sale of defense products; control of exports of dual-use goods; various financial and other restrictions.

US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken traveled to Europe to attend the summits of the Group of Seven (G7) on June 26-28 at Elmau Castle in Bavaria, Germany, and of NATO on June 28-30 in Madrid. One of the key topics of both events will be russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.

The United States looks forward to actively discussing issues related to the provision and expansion of military assistance to Kyiv. The G7 leaders will also discuss “increasing pressure on Russia”.

At the Bavarian summit, G7 leaders will consider the US idea of ​​introducing a global “ceiling” for oil prices. The plan prohibits the purchase of russian oil at prices higher than its cost.

US President Joe Biden and other G7 (Great Seven) leaders have agreed and will soon announce a ban on gold imports from russia, CNN reporter Caitlen Collins said. Gold is russia’s second largest export commodity after energy.

Earlier, the Association of Swiss Gold Processors said it interviewed its members, and none of them imported russian gold in May 2022.

Stocks of precious metals in russian banks in February-March decreased by 20%.

The United States opposes a russian inspection of Ukrainian ships that will be delivering  grain from unlocked ports if the “grain corridor” is operational. This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. “By what right and on the basis of what logic does russia insist on the inspection of Ukrainian sovereign vessels leaving Ukrainian ports and going to other countries? It doesn't make any sense”, he said.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that the European Union will no longer be able to return to normal relations with russian president putin, on whose conscience lies this terrible and criminal war.

“He is a criminal, and as a criminal he has to pay the price he forced us to pay. To pay for the damage he caused. So we have imposed six packages of sanctions that seriously undermine the russian economy. Deeper and deeper, the longer they last. Therefore, it is impossible for us to return to normal relations with putin”, said Ursula von der Leyen.

She added that putin will no longer be able to win the war and that Ukraine will win.

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda believes that the government should immediately start consultations with the European Commission on the implementation of sanctions on Kaliningrad transit. “The government must immediately start consultations with the European Commission so that the imposed sanctions do not harm either Lithuania's interests or international agreements. Only by working together will we make the sanctions against the aggressor country painful”, Nauseda said.The President of Lithuania discussed the issue of transit with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and noted that Lithuania will not make concessions to russia.

“Lithuania must and will apply EU sanctions. Lithuania must and will maintain control over the goods transported through its territory, and there can be no talk of any “corridors”, just as there can be no talk of concessions  to Russia in response to the kremlin's threats”,  Nauseda said.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom  Boris Johnson has stated that he could resign in case of defeat in support of Ukraine.  “… If I were told that we should abandon the Ukrainian cause because it was becoming too difficult, and the cost of supporting this people is too high in terms of inflation, economic damage, I would admit that I lost a very important dispute, and I would leave”,  stressed Johnson.

The tripartite format of cooperation between Ukraine, the United Kingdom  and Poland is focused on defense, security and military cooperation, –  said the British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons.

“We are focused on defense, security and military cooperation. In my opinion, in the future we can develop diplomatic and political types of cooperation, within which the cooperation of the trio can strengthen relations. However, now we are all focused on countering the invasion”, said Simmons.

Germany will provide grant assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 1 billion euros. The funds will be directed to the state budget of Ukraine to finance priority social and humanitarian expenditures during martial law.

At a special session of the Energy Charter Conference on 24 June in Brussels, the Contracting Parties stripped russia and belarus of their observer status in the community and suspended the Treaty to the Energy Charter for belarus. These issues were included in the agenda of the session at the insistence of the Ukrainian side.

The Energy Charter Treaty is a multilateral agreement signed by about 60 countries, as well as the European Union. The Charter establishes the basic principles of cooperation, in particular in the field of protection of foreign investments, establishes transit rules for energy systems and mechanisms for resolving disputes between contracting parties, investors and host countries.

russia and elarus did sign the Energy Charter Treaty, but have not ratified it. At the same time, belarus applied the Treaty temporarily.

The State Financial Monitoring Service (SFMS) of Ukraine has sent to Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa the intelligence on the activities of businesses related to the russian federation in those countries.

The world is threatened by an “unprecedented global famine crisis”, the main cause of which may be the war in Ukraine, – said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. In addition to climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, and inequality, the war in Ukraine has led to a “global famine crisis” that is already affecting hundreds of millions of people.

The date of signing the Special Agreement on Liberalization of Road Transport with the EU – the so-called “transport visa-free” – has been announced – June 29.

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In 2021, the countries that have recently been recognized by the russian government as unfriendly provided almost 45% of russia's trade turnover. After the imposition of sanctions, imports to russia decreased significantly. In particular, in monetary terms, supplies from Germany in March 2022 decreased by 58.7%, from France by 60.4%, from the United States by 78.8%, – report   analysts of the rating agency Acre. The russian government hopes to level the situation through parallel imports. However, by the end of the year there will still be 20-30% less imported goods. At present, imports have decreased by 40%, and in the equipment segment – by 65%.

In the first half of June, sales of Moscow perfume and cosmetics stores in monetary terms decreased by 12%, and the number of goods sold – by 18%. According to experts, this is due to the russians’ desire  to save, the  30% increase in the cost of popular goods and the general reduction in the range. According to the association of manufacturers of perfumes, cosmetics, household chemicals and hygiene products, in the segment of perfumes imports used to amount to 70%, of decorative cosmetics – to 70-80%, care products – to 50%. Parallel imports are unlikely to help resolve the problem of the general decline in public demand for such goods – due to complex logistics, the cost of production for the mass segment will be too high.

In russia, there is a significant decrease in demand for fitting platforms for container transportation: in April, the reduction in traffic was 50% compared to April 2021, and in May – up to 82%. As savchuk, deputy director general of the institute for natural monopoly, pointed out: “if it were not for the military actions in Ukraine, in 2022, according to our forecasts, there would be  a record level of purchase of fitting platforms”.

Announced by the russian authorities three years ago as the first and only project worth 2.7 billion rubles under a special investment contract in the segment of medical production will be terminated. snabpolimer medicine has stated that it was not ready to start producing disposable third-generation syringes in nizhny novgorod region. It is believed that in the context of the russian crisis, such production is commercially risky due to dependence on imported equipment.

More than 2.8 million people in russia live on aid paid by the state for the care of the disabled and the elderly, the amount of the aid is only 1.2 thousand rubles. Another half a million parents who care for children with disabilities, receive aid in the amount of 10 thousand rubles. By law, these people have no right to other income. All-russian public movement “right to care” published a petition signed by more than 75 thousand people, demanding to increase assistance for the care of disabled and elderly russians. The main thing that infuriates them is why the russian government spends tens and hundreds of millions of rubles on senseless missiles, but never has any money to maintain a more or less normal standard of living for its own citizens.

Against the background of the russian crisis and international isolation, many russian IT professionals are moving to South America, where they are looking for new business opportunities.

The Greek Visa Application Center has stopped accepting visa applications from russian citizens, and the Greek consulates in moscow, st. petersburg and novorossiysk will not consider applications from June 27. Deadlines for resumption of accepting  documents are not specified.

Belarus continues to lose small and medium-sized businesses. In the first five months of this year, more than 3,200 micro-organizations and 2,100 individual entrepreneurs closed down across the country. This follows from the data of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties. The Council for Entrepreneurship Development under the Government of Belarus reported on serious problems of small and medium-sized businesses – shrinking markets, difficulties with calculations and logistics. Against this background, the country has lost 7.5 thousand small and medium-sized businesses since the beginning of the year. At the beginning of June, there were 270,966 individual entrepreneurs in Belarus. This is 2,154 fewer than at the beginning of this year. Their number increased in Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions, but in the rest it fell.

At the beginning of this month, there were 83,001 micro-organizations (companies with a staff of up to 15 people). This is 3,278 fewer than at the beginning of the year. They decreased in all regions, as well as in Minsk. At this, the tax burden on microorganisms has also increased. In January-May, it was 10.2%. In 2021, this figure was 8.7%.

The number of small organizations (from 16 to 100 people) also decreased in all regions. At the beginning of June, there were 2,093 medium-sized organizations (101 to 250 employees) in the country as a whole. This is 56 fewer than at the beginning of the year.