MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Russia launches latest intermediate-range missile at a Ukrainian defense plant; outgoing US President Joe Biden plans to forgive part of Ukraine's debt. Meanwhile, the US Treasury imposes sanctions on dozens of Russian financial institutions. These stories topped Friday's newspaper headlines in Russia.

 

Izvestia: Russia launches intermediate range missile at Ukrainian defense plant

The Ukraine conflict has expanded globally following the launches of Western-made long-range missiles against Russia, President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address to the nation on November 21. While Moscow has always chosen to resolve the situation through peaceful means, it will be ready to "decisively respond to aggressive escalation in a tit-for-tat manner," the Russian leader said. Russia struck a Ukrainian aerospace plant in Dnepropetrovsk with the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile that carried a conventional warhead in retaliation for the launches of Western-provided missiles targeting Russian military facilities in the bordering regions of Kursk and Bryansk on November 19 and 21, Putin explained. This was the first combat use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile in Russian history, experts say. Nor has there been any information about Russia working on the Oreshnik missile before. The president reiterated that enemy attacks using Western-supplied missiles cannot change the course of the special military operation, with Russian forces advancing along the entire line of engagement.

Russia notified the United States 30 minutes before the scheduled launch, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. In a separate statement, he specified that the Russian notification was not made through the system of notifications for the launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as the Oreshnik is not that type of missile.

Such a covert Russian project as the Oreshnik missile may have been built on the basis of the Iskander ballistic missile using a new-generation solid-fuel engine, said editor of the Military Russia website Dmitry Kornev. According to him, "we witnessed the first combat use ever of an intermediate-range [ballistic] missile in Russia." "Russia is unrivaled in the development of such missiles and the creation of such hypersonic weapons globally," the military expert recalled.

And the Oreshnik can bypass any existing missile defense system, another military expert, Vladislav Shurygin, told Izvestia. It can destroy well-protected deep bunkers without using nuclear warheads, he added.

The United States has violated all international agreements and crossed all red lines, so Russia will certainly respond to that, military expert Viktor Litovkin said in an interview with Izvestia. The Oreshnik missile was launched at Yuzhmash, a Ukrainian plant that produced the world’s largest strategic missiles — Satan and Voevoda, he explained. "That was a demonstrative launch that will make the West reconsider its direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict. And the next attack could target them," the expert warned.

 

Vedomosti: Biden moves to forgive $4.65 Billion of Ukrainian debt

US President Joe Biden plans to cancel part of Ukraine’s debt, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a letter to Congress from the Department of State. According to the letter, forgiving $4.65 billion in debt owed by Ukraine would help Kiev prevail, which aligns with the interests of the United States and its partners in the EU, the G7+, and NATO. According to Bloomberg, the document was drafted on November 18, when the media intensively discussed Biden’s decision to allow Kiev to use ATACMS missiles for strikes inside Russia.

The Biden administration needs to "exhaust" the remaining tranches of aid to Ukraine as it will be difficult to disburse several billion dollars' worth of funds before Donald Trump takes office, and it will be easier to authorize money transfers, political scientist Malek Dudakov says. According to the expert, neither the US Congress nor Trump has a chance to prevent Biden from doing so.

According to the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), since February 2022, US lawmakers have approved five bills channeling a total of $175 billion to Ukraine. Of that amount, Kiev has been given more than $100 billion in direct aid, including $33.3 billion to bolster its budget and $69.8 billion for weapons and other hardware. Biden is seeking to fast-track military aid packages, Dudakov continued. "But expediting this rather than distributing funds is much more difficult. Therefore, Trump may as well cancel those upon inauguration," the expert in American studies said. Trump will try to shift the burden of support to Ukraine onto Europeans, he argued.

The decision to write off part of the debt is not part of a strategy to improve Kiev’s negotiating position but rather an attempt by the Biden administration to protect its partners who could have a hand in misappropriating allocated funds, corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergey Sudakov pointed out. Billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, candidates pitched by Trump to oversee the work of the federal government, may conduct a probe into this, the expert surmised. "But this will hardly be followed by any punishment, as written-off funds are not considered wasted," the expert concluded.

 

Media: US imposes major sanctions on Russian financial infrastructure

The United States has unleashed its largest-ever package of sanctions on 100 financial institutions, including Russian lenders, with Gazprombank being the largest, and foreign banks with Russian participation. The latest SDN List also targets top managers of the Bank of Russia who are somehow affiliated with the payment infrastructure.

The US Department of the Treasury argues that the latest sanctions will "prevent Russia from abusing the international financial system to pay for the technology and equipment."

The measure targets anew the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), an instrument established by the CBR in 2014 as an alternative to SWIFT to maintain international financial ties. OFAC stated outright that it views joining SPFS "as a red flag and is prepared to more aggressively target foreign financial institutions."

According to Anna Zabrotskaya, a partner at Nordic Star Law Offices, the latest restrictions will "seriously complicate operations with foreign counterparties, especially in settlements for exports and imports, and they will negatively affect the liquidity of these banks." Nikita Yershov, a senior lawyer at the Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov, and Partners law firm, described the new US sanctions as "large-scale but not catastrophic." However, Gazprombank has been the main operator for payments by European countries for Russian pipeline natural gas, and from now on, European counterparties will be able to pay for Russian gas without risks "only through still-unsanctioned banks that are becoming increasingly scarce," Zabrotskaya told Kommersant.

Experts interviewed by Izvestia argue that Gazprombank, which has avoided being sanctioned for almost three years, will hardly be affected in the short term. As this institution has anticipated restrictions for years, it has prepared for them, independent expert Andrey Barkhota said. The bank has minimized balances on correspondent accounts abroad to ensure that as little money as possible is subject to freezing. Furthermore, Russian exports have largely been redirected to the East, where a completely different, non-Western infrastructure is used for payments.

 

Vedomosti: ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli PM, former defense chief

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed at least between October 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024, the ICC announced on its website.

The Israeli prime minister’s office slammed the decision as "antisemitic." The ICC "is a biased and discriminatory political body," Israel contended. The Jewish state described the war it has been waging against Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, as justifiable. Israeli President Isaac Herzog dismissed the decision as outrageous in a statement on X.

The arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant come as Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, and Trump has traditionally favored right-wing Israeli politicians, senior expert at the Institute of the Middle East Sergey Balmasov told Vedomosti. The ICC’s decision may be viewed as retaliation on the part of Democrats in the United States and affiliated political forces in Europe to make things harder for a Republican administration at the White House in its relations with Israel further down the road, the expert opined. "The verdict by the ICC will somehow hamper Trump’s political maneuvering in the Middle East. However, it will unlikely cause any major consequences to relations between the US and Israel, and Washington will continue to provide political and military support to the Jewish state," the expert explained.

Also, the decision offers a sort of gift to Netanyahu, Balmasov continued. According to him, Israel has long ignored international resolutions, and the ICC’s move will enable the Israeli premier to use it for propaganda purposes, portraying himself as a social martyr who has suffered while protecting his country’s interests. "Trump’s victory inspired the Israeli government and gave them a free hand to escalate the conflict not only in Gaza and Lebanon but also in the entire region," he concluded.

 

Izvestia: Russia's gold reserves exceed a record $200 billion

In the first 10 months of 2024, Russia’s gold reserves reached $207 billion, according to data from the Central Bank, reported by Izvestia. Since early 2024, the volume has seen a surge of 33%, marking the largest increase ever.

The CBR data reflects a rise in the cost of monetary gold, analyst at Finam Nikolay Dudchenko pointed out. By early November, the price of the precious metal rose by 4% month-over-month, reaching $2,744 per troy ounce, and Russia’s reserves in monetary gold saw a similar increase over the same period.

Russia’s gold reserves look impressive compared to those owned by other countries: in the second quarter of this year, Russia was ranked fifth globally, following the United States, Germany, Italy, and France, according to the World Gold Council.

Gold has become a preferred reserve asset amid growing sanctions pressure, independent expert Andrey Barkhota explained. Gold prices do not fluctuate as quickly as currencies, and the resilience of this asset to sanctions is considerably higher overall. Moreover, Russia is a major gold producer and is self-sufficient in it, he stated.

Gold prices have been climbing recently amid geopolitical tensions, lead economist at BCS World of Investments Ilya Fyodorov said. Among other central banks, regulators in China, India, and Turkey have been actively purchasing it, analyst at Alfa-Capital Dmitry Skryabin added. Furthermore, tensions in the Middle East have further fueled the rise, he said. According to his forecasts, by 2025, gold could reach a new record of $3,000 per ounce.

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