November 2, 2024 Ukraine and the World – Against russia’s Aggression. Sanctions in Action
11/2/2024
Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin has said that the United States will announce new military assistance for Ukraine “in the coming days”. “That includes artillery, air defense, armored vehicles, munitions and other crucial capabilities”, he announced.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Mélanie Joly has said that her country is trying to persuade other states to give Ukraine permission for long-range strikes on targets within russian territory. She also pointed out that Canada intends to introduce a new package of sanctions against russia over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories.
The World Bank is launching a new $593 million program in Ukraine to support small and medium-sized enterprises.
Chairman of the Estonian Parliament's Constitutional Committee Hendrik Terras has announced the preparation of a government draft law that will allow Ukrainians living in the country to vote in local elections on a par with other friendly states.
rf
Poland has begun construction of a defense line along the border with the rf under the Eastern Shield program, – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Along the 400-kilometer border with kaliningrad region of the rf and the rb, it is planned to dig 800 kilometers of ditches, equip minefields, install anti-tank barriers and fences, and create a video surveillance system.
Lithuanian customs officers have detained 13 used cars from a Klaipeda company for violating international sanctions when they tried to export them to the rf and the rb.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Germany has indicted a russian and German citizen, S. Dieter, for participating in the war against Ukraine in 2014 – 2016.
According to the institute for statistical research and economics of knowledge at the national research university of the hse, in the second quarter of 2024, more than 2.7 million job vacancies remained unfilled in russian industry. The manufacturing industry lacked 400,000 workers, trade – 390,000, transport – 281,000, construction – 130,000, and energy – 95,000. The shortage of personnel in the security sector was 19.5%, in land transport – 17.8%, in postal and courier activities – 15.9%, and in retail – 15.3%.
In the first ten months of 2024, the ministry of finance of the rf canceled almost as many auctions for the placement of federal loan bonds as in the previous nine years taken together. Due to the war against Ukraine, banks do not want to invest in russian government securities. In the first half of the year, 13 auctions of variable-coupon bonds were canceled due to “lack of bids”.
In the third quarter, clients of russian forex dealers suffered losses of RUB 546.5 million.
According to the association of fishing fleet ship owners, in 2025, the profitability of marine fishing in the rf may decline from the current 7% to 2%. In 2023, it was at 14.1%.
In October, new passenger cars in the rf went up again, by an average of 2-5%. By the end of the year, car prices will rise by 10%, as forecasted by the “russian automobile dealers” association.
On November 1, parking rates in moscow became more expensive for the second time in a year, with the maximum rate increasing from 600 to 800 rubles for an hour.
Within three days, a second plane of the russian airline “rossiya” broke down in the air. The plane flying from st. petersburg to Almaty made an emergency landing at moscow's sheremetyevo airport.
On November 1-4, the Latvian Armed Forces are conducting air defense training in Latgale, a region of the country bordering the rb. The training includes detection and destruction of small objects. They are also practicing decision-making processes and information exchange between the border guard service, police and rescuers.
On November 1, Latvia introduced a ban on vehicles registered in the rb.
On November 1, the dollar rose to 3.3203 rubles at the rb currency and stock exchange, hitting a one-year high. The euro rose to RUB 3.6216.
Starting from March 1, 2025, financial institutions in the rb will use the indicator of debt burden in assessing the solvency of citizens when entering into leasing and microloan agreements with them. This indicator should not exceed 40%. When assessing creditworthiness, financial institutions must also compare the income of an individual remaining after all payments have been made with the size of the subsistence budget. If the income is less than the subsistence budget, financing will be provided in excess of the debt burden indicator.
As of October 1, the total debt of belarusians on loans to banks amounted to 24,362.8 million rubles. According to the national bank, the amount of debt has been growing since the beginning of the year.
On November 1, new rules for taxi services came into effect in the rb: all cars and drivers must be registered in the register of road transportation of passengers in irregular traffic. Residents of minsk and other cities have already experienced an increase in taxi prices and waiting time.
For some belarusians, a fee was introduced for receiving pensions through the post office or home delivery.
The kgb officers are applying a new strategy: before detaining a person, they disconnect his or her mobile phone through the operator. On October 31, such mass searches and detentions took place in smorgon and volkovisk. siloviki are checking information on mobile phones, as well as the geolocation of phones in 2020.
Authorities of the rb have launched a “flash mob”: state organizations and government agencies publish videos of employees saying: “Nado!” (rus.-“It is necessary!”). In this way they ask lukashenko to run in the 2025 presidential election. Participants are not informed about the meaning of the campaign, they learn about it from the news: “They just drove us all outside and didn't tell us why, pulled out a camera and told us to shout: “Nado!” When we asked what for, they said: “You’ve been told to shout, so shout”.