What Kommersant, RBC, Vedomosti, Interfax and Forbes Russia report — selected and summarized in English every morning, for readers who don't read Russian. Analysis-grade sourcing, no wire rehash. Data context in the Russia Terminal. Regional wires: Central Asia · Caucasus.
Brussels adopted its largest sanctions package in four years, the Bank of Russia decides on rates today with inflation expectations at a multi-year high, and the fuel export ban is set to run into 2027.
EU ambassadors agreed the 21st sanctions package, the largest in four years with 218 listings, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. It covers more than 100 banks and crypto operators, over 40 shadow-fleet vessels, several refineries in Russia and Belarus, and more than 50 defense-industry companies; Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said transactions with a further 32 Russian banks will be banned and the oil price cap frozen for a year at the current $44 per barrel. Reuters reported the package also targets the Moscow Exchange, under US sanctions since June 2024 — though Euractiv wrote the package was softened, keeping a one-year permission for companies to ship Russian LNG to third countries.
Source: Forbes.ru, 23 Jul 2026
The central bank's board meets today; the large majority of analysts polled by Interfax expect the key rate to stay at 14.25% after June's surprise 25-basis-point cut. Annual inflation stood at 5.84% as of July 20, up from 5.62% a week earlier, and household inflation expectations jumped from 12.4% to 14.7% in July — the third-highest reading in a decade, driven by the fuel-market crisis. Analysts expect the regulator to raise its inflation and rate-path forecasts; Renaissance Capital sees the 2027 average-rate projection moving from 8–10% to 10–12%, which would push the prospect of cheaper financing further out.
Source: Interfax, 24 Jul 2026
The government is discussing extending the producer diesel export ban, which expires July 31, by one month and the gasoline export ban by six months, Interfax reported citing several sources; the diesel ban for non-producers would also run six months. A draft resolution is ready and the final decision rests with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak; one source said the decision is "effectively taken". An extension would keep Russian product volumes off world markets and signals that the domestic fuel shortage is not yet resolved.
Source: Interfax, 23 Jul 2026
CEO Patrick Pouyanné told investors that Novatek has initiated the transfer of TotalEnergies' 10% stake in Arctic LNG 2 to its subsidiary Nordline and expects the process, authorized by a presidential decree in June, to close shortly. TotalEnergies wrote down $4.1 billion of Russian assets in 2022, most of it Arctic LNG 2; the project has been under US sanctions since November 2023, and all foreign shareholders — TotalEnergies, CNPC, CNOOC and the Mitsui/JOGMEC consortium, 10% each — declared force majeure. The exit removes one of the last major Western equity positions in Russian LNG and shows how foreign-asset transfers now run through presidential authorization.
Source: Interfax, 23 Jul 2026
Rosstat reported industrial production up 0.4% year-over-year for January–June 2026, with June output 0.6% above the prior-year level; manufacturing added 0.7% while extraction fell 0.5%. The growth base stays narrow: other transport equipment rose 32.6% and pharmaceuticals 13.9%, while metallurgy fell 9.3% and coke and petroleum products 7.7% — June refining output dropped 21.7% year-over-year as refinery producer prices climbed 28.3% on the year. For foreign suppliers the data confirm a two-speed economy: defense-linked sectors expand while large civilian industries stagnate or contract.
Source: Kommersant, 23 Jul 2026