MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. Israel wages war on Hezbollah, Russia increases drone production and mulls countermeasures to Western sanctions. These stories topped Friday's newspaper headlines across Russia.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Israel catches Lebanon off guard
Israel launched intensive shelling attacks on Lebanon following a two-day operation on blowing up Hezbollah communication devices. The General Staff of the Jewish state approved the plan of an offensive operation, which adds another frontline to the already existing one in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah branded the current situation as an actual declaration of war, which demands a forceful response. However, neither the movement nor Iran, its key external partner, have any options proportional to Israel’s pressure.
"First of all, security inside Hezbollah is like a sieve now, as they say in the region," expert on the Middle East Anton Mardasov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "Israel is pulling off one successful and resounding operation after another. On the one hand, this is wreaking havoc among Hezbollah supporters, on the other, it is camouflaging Israel’s setbacks," he said.
"Secondly, if at first it seemed that Israel’s strategy to raise the stakes in the region in order to get the US involved was not particularly successful, and Hezbollah had enough room to maneuver, now the situation has changed," the expert noted. "It is increasingly more difficult for Hezbollah to maintain parity in containment, without resorting to the only serious argument, a massive shelling attack on Israeli cities, which not only will provoke an all-out war but, despite the opinion of some analysts, will anger the country’s other religious communities, even including Shiites. Everyone will clearly see that they suffer for Hezbollah promoting the Iranian regional plan at the expense of Lebanon and its interests. Everyone realizes that Lebanon, which is already in a serious permanent economic and political crisis, will not handle a war," Mardasov added.
According to the expert, in order to maintain parity, Hezbollah must find a convincing way to react without completely destroying Lebanon. "And the usual launches of projectiles and drones at Israeli targets do not compare to technically sophisticated Israeli operations on undermining Hezbollah’s defense ability and unity. It is obvious that pointing fingers does not help in uniting before a common enemy," he concluded.
Izvestia: Russia bolsters drone production ten-fold
The production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Russia will increase almost ten-fold this year versus the previous one, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 19 at a session of a military-industrial commission on developing special-purpose unmanned aerial systems in St. Petersburg. Russia needs to completely cover the needs of its Armed Forces, boost the production of UAVs and implement AI technologies, the Russian leader stressed.
Lately, the country’s defense ability has grown while troops began to receive innovative weapon systems, military expert Dmitry Kornev asserted.
"Above all, this is about the UAVs which have drastically changed the situation on the battlefield. And we are talking about tactical longer-range devices, this is a new technology product. For instance, we began to massively produce Lancets, and FPV drones appeared which the army did not have before the special operation," he told Izvestia.
The expert also noted that literally this year, FPV drones controlled via a fiber optic cable emerged which also proved effective. All domestic projectile systems have proved their significance and effectiveness, he added.
"High-precision munitions for Uragan multiple launch rocket systems appeared en masse," Kornev added. "Iskander, Kalibr, and a hypersonic Kinzhal are those systems that have substantially undermined and continue to eliminate the adversary’s military potential," he concluded.
Vedomosti: Russia’s Justice Ministry mulls legal protection against Western sanctions
The Russian Justice Ministry is considering steps on shaping a "legal dome" of sorts which would block the extraterritorial effect of Western sanctions, Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko said during the plenary session of the BRICS Legal Forum in Moscow. "Western countries are jointly introducing these measures, so the protection against them must also be of a collective nature," he stressed. This move is necessary in order to boost resistance to unilateral restrictive measures within the framework of the judicial rapprochement of BRICS countries, he specified.
Currently, the sanctions are being introduced not only by certain countries but also by transnational groups, such as the European Union or a bloc of countries linked by common interests or allied obligations, lawyer Alexander Khaminsky told Vedomosti. "That said, the sanctions themselves are violating international agreements, signed by the subjects introducing the sanctions, such as the WTO," he stressed. From this point of view, the proposal to respond to the sanctions by these countries and blocs collectively, within the framework of other transnational formations, such as BRICS, is logical, the expert opined.
Developing a collective comprehensive response to Western sanctions is the resolution of an "issue long overdue" which encompasses various aspects of transnational interaction, concurred Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) Director Ivan Timofeev. This may involve, for example, the issues of companies fulfilling their obligations in relation to Western sanctions or the refusal to honor them for the fear of secondary sanctions, he explained. Additionally, the issue of a comprehensive legal reaction is also pertinent in terms of defending Russian citizens charged with criminal offenses abroad, Timofeev added.
Izvestia: Southeast Asia’s interest in BRICS bolsters Russia’s positions
Vietnam will participate in the BRICS summit in Kazan in Russia’s Volga region and the makeup of its delegation is being clarified, the country’s embassy in Moscow told Izvestia. It is quite possible that the delegation will be led by General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Vietnam To Lam - at least, Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped so during a recent meeting with the country’s leadership in the Kremlin. Increasingly more Southeast Asian countries are joining the summit with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia having already confirmed their participation. Interaction with the countries in the region will boost Russia’s global position both economically and politically, experts think.
"Undoubtedly, Russia must continue to use BRICS to promote its political and economic interests in Southeast Asia as well as fully use the potential of this group to overcome restrictions," senior researcher at the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Popov told Izvestia.
Strategically, the prospects of strengthening BRICS-Southeast Asia cooperation are practically unlimited. Including the region located between China and India, the organization’s most important countries, will allow to more actively develop logistics, infrastructure and trade in the entire Asian region. For Russia, this also means the expansion of target markets and the bolstering of value chains, noted Pavel Shaternikov of the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Additionally, BRICS presents itself as an organization open to anyone. At the group’s 10th parliamentary forum in July 2024, Putin particularly noted that "openness, fairness and equality are the principles that unite BRICS countries." Undoubtedly, Southeast Asian countries view BRICS as an obvious alternative to economic and political pressure on the part of the West. In this sense, it is important for the countries in this region that not only Russia but also China, its strategic partner, is a member of the group because their economies are largely guided by it, Popov stressed.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Paris trying to form new cabinet
Recently appointed French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has announced that September 19 is the last day for talks on shaping a new government. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron turned down the lineup proposed by the prime minister. Meanwhile, the deadline is looming for Barnier to submit the 2025 draft budget, including fiscal austerity measures, to lawmakers, and a plan of action on cutting the state budget deficit - to European commissioners.
"Barnier’s task appears challenging but he was never afraid of difficulties," noted ex-Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who has recently joined the 2027 presidential race.
Marina Klinova, a research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS), shares this view. "Michel Barnier is the best possible prime minister for France out of candidates who stood out following snap parliamentary elections. He is calling for cutting state expenditures and ‘greater financial fairness,’" she noted.
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