The main events by the morning: February 24

• Australia and New Zealand have announced new sanctions against Russia. Moreover, Australia has introduced its largest package of restrictions since 2022, which affected 79 organizations and 70 individuals. New Zealand, in turn, imposed sanctions against 52 citizens related to the Russian military-industrial complex.

• EU foreign ministers have approved the 16th package of sanctions against Russia. In addition to restrictions on Russian aluminum, the EU has disconnected 13 Russian banks from the SWIFT system. Brussels has also introduced new measures regarding the supply of software, equipment and technologies for oil and gas production to Russia. In addition, 74 tankers from Russia's «shadow fleet» were sanctioned.

• Ukraine will pay the U.S. debt for «hundreds of years.» According to The Economist, Ukraine will donate 50% of the profits from the sale of natural resources and the use of infrastructure to an investment fund to return $500 billion to the United States. But it will take hundreds of years, and during this time this amount can be "devoured" by inflation.

• NOVATEK is forced to change the location of LNG transshipment from ice tankers to conventional ones due to EU sanctions. From the end of March, the Yamal LNG project will lose the ability to use EU export terminals and will be redirected to Murmansk. Transshipment is carried out only in winter – from November to June.

• Samsung, which had not been active in the Russian market for a long time, began to increase its marketing efforts in the country. In January and February 2025, the South Korean company increased its advertising activity by 30% compared to the same period in 2024.