The Ukraine Defense Contact Group (“Ramstein”) will meet at NATO headquarters on June 4.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that during his visit to the United States, he agreed with Secretary of State Mark Rubio on coordinating further steps regarding Russia. He quoted Rubio as saying that “if Putin continues to refuse, measures will be taken,” and the Russian leader “should be prepared for this.”
Senior military advisor at the UK Permanent Mission to the OSCE, Lieutenant Colonel Joby Rimmer, noted that Russia has lost about $450 billion in revenue from its energy sector due to international sanctions.
“Hackers and propagandists often play on the same team. In Europe alone, Russia is responsible for over 80% of information manipulation,” said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.
Poland has extended heightened levels of terrorist threat concerning infrastructure and energy infrastructure outside the country (both Bravo) and in cyberspace (Bravo–CRP) due to possible hybrid attacks from Russia and Belarus.
Due to Russia’s aggressive actions in the Baltic Sea, Finland and Estonia may declare adjacent zones in the waters, which would block access from the Gulf of Finland.
Sweden canceled an international music competition due to close ties of the organizers with Russian state institutions actively supporting the war against Ukraine.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu stated that about 24,000 sanctions have been imposed on Russia.
The Russian government is increasing the fine collection plan from the population and businesses by one-third to replenish the federal treasury, which has faced a sharp drop in raw material revenues.
Not all large companies will survive the sharp economic slowdown and prolonged period of high interest rates, the Russian central bank admitted in a new financial stability review.
The risk of a systemic banking crisis in Russia is growing, warned experts from the Kremlin-linked analytical center CMACP. They define such a crisis as meeting at least one of three conditions: the share of problematic assets exceeds 10% of banking system assets; a “run on banks” where clients withdraw a significant share of funds; forced reorganization of a significant portion (over 10%) of banks or large-scale recapitalization (over 2% of GDP) to prevent collapse.
Overdue credit card payments in Russia have increased by 70% in six months.
The Russian State Duma approved in the first reading government amendments to the 2025 federal budget, which foresee more than tripling the budget deficit to the previous year's level.
S7 Airlines (“Siberia”) canceled flights from Novokuznetsk to Moscow and on several other routes due to problems with the supply of spare parts for its planes.
Faced with a deficit and a sharp rise in potato prices, Russia for the first time resorted to purchasing “second bread” (potatoes) from Mongolia. In April–May, over 4,000 tons of potatoes were imported to Buryatia from the neighboring country.
In one year, fruits and berries in Russia have become 26% more expensive.
Unable to overcome the livestock decline in Belarus, which has reached record levels, Lukashenko proposed criminal liability for veterinarians.
Belarusian authorities are preparing to forcibly seize the property of another enterprise with foreign capital — the car plant “Unison.”
