MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Ukraine seeks to undermine peace talks, and Russian and US lawmakers may hold their first meeting in three years at the upcoming UNGA 80. Meanwhile, Washington greenlights the sale of ERAM long-range missiles to Kiev. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: Ukraine seeks to sabotage peace talks
Ukraine is attempting to undermine the peace settlement as it has intensified large-scale attacks against facilities on Russian soil. This past weekend, Russian air defenses downed hundreds of drones, and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and the port of Ust Luga came under attack. Kiev has increased strikes on civilian targets since the Alaska summit, with the number of daily Ukrainian attacks rising from 300 to 430, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s ambassador at large for issues of the Kiev regime’s crimes, told Izvestia. The diplomat argued that all those were deliberate strikes aimed at causing social tensions and derailing the talks.
Ukraine’s additional attempts to show that it has sufficient defense capabilities and is not being defeated may be behind the increased attacks. Kiev wants to convey its worth to its US and European partners, political analyst Denis Denisov explained to the newspaper. "Any intensified hostilities affect efforts toward peace, and Ukraine may jeopardize peace talks. On the other hand, the parameters of this settlement are not yet clear enough to discuss how such actions may impact progress overall," the expert believes.
Russia will calmly respond to efforts on the part of its opponents to sabotage the negotiation process, Diplomatic Academy Vice Principal Oleg Karpovich told Izvestia. The analyst finds their actions quite predictable, while, he said, Russia’s objective is to adhere to the principles of resolving the conflict outlined by its president and make them clear to constructive forces globally, including the United States and the broader international community. "The situation on the battlefield is worsening rapidly for Ukraine, which is why Moscow will win either way. We should only show patience and summon the willpower of which we have enough," the expert noted.
And the intensity of the negotiation process will depend on the adequacy and common sense of Moscow’s opponents, he stressed. Russia will accomplish the tasks of the special military operation in any case, but it would also be ready to make certain compromises should the other side demonstrate its commitment to peace, of which there have not been any signs yet, he concluded.
Izvestia: Russian, US lawmakers may hold their first meeting since 2022 at upcoming UNGA 80
It is less than a month before the General Assembly High-level week 2025 at the UN headquarters in New York. This time, the Russian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov once again. It will also include Grigory Karasin and Leonid Slutsky, the chairmen of the committees on international affairs at the Federation Council and the State Duma, respectively. Karasin said he might meet with his counterparts from Congress during his visit to the United States.
"No such meetings were held in previous years, but much has changed this year, and we met with the Americans in Riyadh. Lavrov and [Russian Presidential Aide] Yury Ushakov, too, met with their American partners. Therefore, I think such meetings are quite possible," the senior Russian senator told Izvestia.
In the event of a revived interparliamentary dialogue, the two sides could discuss topics of mutual interest, political analysts say. "The agenda of bilateral relations is quite busy. We would perhaps like to see the easing of sanctions in the part related to the US Congress," Andrey Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Discussion Club, told Izvestia. "If any talks on strategic offensive arms begin, clearly any legally binding agreement will have to pass through the Senate. Therefore, we have to prepare American senators to not block such an agreement and to support its ratification," the analyst said. Among other topics, guarantees of mutual non-interference in elections or specific economic projects could also be discussed, he added.
Since early 2025, Moscow and Washington have maintained direct highest-level contacts. The two presidents have held seven phone conversations and a personal meeting in Alaska that marked a breakthrough in bilateral communication since the special military operation.
There has been an active dialogue between Kremlin Aide Kirill Dmitriev and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as the two countries’ top diplomats, Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio. The Russian foreign minister may meet his US counterpart in person again at the UN headquarters in September. However, restoring dialogue between legislators may prove more difficult than between government officials, Kortunov argues.
The resumption of bilateral relations has been slowed amid major progress in resolving the Ukraine crisis. "It would be too early to revive dialogue between parliaments amid a lack of substantial progress in resolving the Ukraine conflict," Thomas Graham, Distinguished Fellow at the American Council on Foreign Relations and former special assistant to US President George Bush on Russia and Eurasia, told Izvestia in an interview. However, what the expert called non-public "discreet" communication between certain lawmakers could help achieve progress on Ukraine.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Trump administration authorizes delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine
While the idea of holding talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders is currently being considered, the United States continues to provide military support to Kiev. Washington has authorized the sale of Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) air-launched missiles to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
According to the US Air Force, the ERAM long-range munition for tactical aircraft, including MiG-29, Su-24, and F-16, was designed specifically for Ukrainian forces. The project was funded by the administration of former US President Joe Biden. The WSJ reported, citing sources, that the administration of US President Donald Trump has greenlighted the sale of 3,350 ERAM missiles to Kiev. The $850 million package includes not only missiles but also equipment for installation, control systems, and training programs for Ukrainian troops.
The new missile has a range of up to 460 kilometers, media reports say. These missiles are expected to arrive in about six weeks, according to the WSJ. Thus, they will reach Ukraine at a time when it becomes clear how the negotiation process between Moscow and Kiev may proceed. "The US president is not against sending weapons to Ukrainian troops at NATO’s expense," Retired Colonel Nikolay Shulgin told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "If there is peace, Kiev and [NATO] member countries could view the missiles purchased by Ukraine as a means of containment and a component of security guarantees being prepared for Ukraine by the West. But clearly, the latest move should be regarded as undesirable and highly provocative, escalating the Ukraine conflict," the military expert stressed.
"Ukraine purchasing more than 3,000 long-range missiles from the United States may prove a purely commercial project rather than a combat one. ERAM-type munitions stand no chance of being a game changer on the battlefield [for Ukrainian forces]," Shulgin stated. The latest US missiles have not been tested in combat yet, the expert explained, while Russian air defense systems would likely intercept them with ease. Moreover, launching ERAM missiles would require stationary airfields that remain under constant fire control of the Russian Army, he concluded.
Vedomosti: Sanctions have neutral effect on Russian corporate revenues, experts note
Despite expectations, individual sanctions targeting Russian companies have not caused any significant negative impact on their revenues. The restrictions not only failed to reduce the affected companies’ business in certain sectors, but they even stimulated the expansion of their activity, a recent report showed.
By 2025, the United States introduced individual sanctions on almost all sectors and fields of the Russian economy. The measures were imposed for political and rhetorical reasons rather than with the purpose of causing as much damage as possible, so their impact was not felt at all or was mitigated with counter-sanction measures, the report reads.
The sanctions have had a minor effect because affected businesses in both the oil and gas sector and the manufacturing industry managed to find a way out relatively easily, Alexey Kalinin, an associate professor at the department of applied economics of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University) and the author of the report, explained to Vedomosti. Also, the individual US sanctions were quite politicized, meaning there could be big names among targeted companies, but they may have conducted no business with US companies or investors.
Since the start of the sanctions era, the Russian economic model has changed significantly, an expert at RANEPA, Dmitry Zemlyansky, told the newspaper. Firstly, as part of Russia’s eastward pivot, supply markets have changed for many industries, which helped minimize the consequences of the sanctions, and secondly, new demand from the defense industry and affiliated sectors has risen domestically, the expert added. Thirdly, real import substitution has been taking place in emerging niches, the economist said.
Meanwhile, after 2023, data has been much scarcer as many companies stopped publishing financial reports, Kalinin recalled. On the one hand, Russia mostly relies on foreign technology and equipment, and limited access to those may hamper growth, Kalinin argued. On the other hand, the Russian economy has learned to adapt in various ways, he added.
Vedomosti: US to acquire 10% stake in Intel
The United States will acquire a 10% stake in Intel, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform. The corporation released a similar statement on its website. "It is my great honor to report that the United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of Intel, a great American company," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The US leader described building leading-edge semiconductors and chips as fundamental for his country’s future. The corporation itself welcomed what it called the "historic agreement to boost American technology and manufacturing leadership."
Neither Trump nor Intel has specified when the deal will be finalized.
Survival and stabilization, not global expansion, is the key priority for Intel at present, therefore public investment is mainly needed as a "financial cushion," Anna Sytnik, CEO of Colaboratoria, told Vedomosti. The main reason behind the move to purchase the shares is to reinforce Intel and, consequently, the entire US semiconductor industry amid the intensifying AI race with China, Sytnik explained. According to her, this public-private partnership aligns with the logic of the Manhattan Project 2.0 in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
CNN reported, citing two White House officials, that the Trump administration is considering similar agreements with other companies in strategically important sectors.
Research fellow at the Institute of International Studies of MGIMO University Vladimir Pavlov sees significant prospects for long-term and broader US government support for the IT industry. According to him, the US may take various steps to ensure its dominance in technology. Even Trump’s opponents in Congress may choose not to block such actions, the expert argued.
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