MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. A 19th package of anti-Russian sanctions is seen deepening the rift within the EU, and the Israeli military conducted its first landing raid near the Syrian capital. Meanwhile, Russia announced sinking a Ukrainian naval ship with an uncrewed boat for the first time. These stories topped Friday's newspaper headlines in Russia.
Izvestia: 19th package of sanctions on Russia deepens divisions in EU
The effect of the latest 19th package of the EU’s sanctions on Russia will be limited, experts interviewed by Izvestia say. Moreover, it may further widen divisions among Europeans amid threats to impose secondary sanctions, with several countries beyond Hungary and Slovakia opposing them. North Macedonia, for example, is dissatisfied that, despite its limited funds, it continues to spend money on Ukraine, the republic’s parliament told Izvestia. The EU’s foreign and defense ministers are set to meet in Copenhagen and Brussels on August 28-30 to discuss intensifying pressure on Russia. Their agenda will also cover new restrictions and security guarantees for Ukraine.
The earlier packages of EU sanctions have already hurt countries inside the bloc. Germany, traditionally seen as the engine of the European economy, has experienced a 31% surge in electricity prices since 2021 due to its refusal to import Russian energy, Handelsblatt cited an analysis by Verivox as saying.
Clearly, the EU has run into limits with direct anti-Russian sanctions, which is why it is now considering introducing secondary measures, media reported, though this may spark resentment from more member states.
Among other options, the European Union could ban specific exports to third countries that help Russia with parallel imports, Yekaterina Arapova, director of a research program at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, told Izvestia. "Even as I think this issue will be discussed on the 29th and 30th [of August], I am totally confident that it will not form the basis of the next or any additional sanctions packages. For that would be a shot in the head, not in the leg, for the EU," the expert said.
According to her, if the EU blocks certain high-tech supplies to Turkey, China, or India, it would cause severe damage to its own member states.
Georgy Ostapkovich, Director of the Center for Market Studies at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, Higher School of Economics, noted that, under globalization, any country may learn to circumvent sanctions unless they are imposed by the United Nations.
Vedomosti: Israel carries out first landing raid in Damascus suburb
In the early hours of August 28, the Israeli military carried out its first landing raid in a Damascus suburb since the military opposition took power in Syria. The attack came a day after an Israeli airstrike in the same area killed at least six members of the so-called Syrian security forces, SANA news agency and Syria’s state-owned television El Ekhbariya reported. Several days earlier, the Arab republic’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa told regional media about a major breakthrough in efforts to develop a new bilateral security agreement with Israel.
The attacks took place against the backdrop of continued talks between Syria and Israel on a potential new security agreement that could include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the buffer zone in the Syrian sector of the Golan Heights, where they have been stationed since December.
Israel launched a preemptive strike on Syria to stop forces of the new regime from consolidating and later posing a threat to the Jewish state, Murad Sadygzade, president of the Center for Middle East Research, told Vedomosti. Despite bilateral contacts, Israel does not trust the new Syrian government, and these attacks align with that logic, the expert added.
In theory, Damascus could cede part of its land to normalize relations with Israel. The new Syrian government is seeking to stabilize the situation on the external front to fully focus on addressing domestic issues, the expert noted. "Obviously, Syria currently lacks either the resources or the capacity to respond to Israel, as Turkey, let alone Gulf countries, will not support it here," he added.
According to Russian International Affairs Council expert Kirill Semyonov, Israel has been trying to establish an occupation zone in southern Syria under US cover so it can soon form its own puppet government of the Druze in the Al-Suwayda Governorate. Even though Damascus is aware of Israel’s plans, it does not yet have the means to oppose them or confront the White House, fearing the return of sanctions, the expert stressed.
Kommersant: Russia destroys Ukrainian naval vessel with uncrewed boat
Overnight into Thursday, a Russian uncrewed boat of the Black Sea Fleet sank the medium reconnaissance ship Simferopol of the Ukrainian Navy in the Danube River’s mouth, south of Odessa. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack, carried out with a high-speed uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), resulted in the destruction of the enemy vessel. Ukrainian Navy Spokesman Dmitry Pletenchuk confirmed the attack on Thursday.
The strike marked the first documented use of Russian uncrewed motorboats against an enemy warship. Information about the type of the USV that hit the Simferopol was not disclosed.
According to Ilya Kramnik, research fellow with the Center for Strategic Planning at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, the lost vessel was regarded as one of the most valuable assets of the Ukrainian fleet even before the onset of the special military operation, therefore the sinking of the Simferopol is significant, especially given where it occurred.
The Danube’s mouth is a critical zone for Ukraine because vessels carrying grain pass through it. This aspect requires considerable Ukrainian efforts to control the water area by default.
Besides, the Simferopol was relatively new, equipped with mostly Western-made advanced radio equipment, the expert added. As for other major vessels in service with the Ukrainian Navy, they are now relying on Turkish Ada-class corvettes which are currently undergoing sea trials. However, Kramnik told Kommersant, these ships will hardly be transferred to the Ukrainian fleet before the conflict is resolved as they "can immediately become a legitimate target for Russian forces," he explained.
Vedomosti: US opens probe into Wikipedia
The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is looking into "organized efforts, undertaken in violation of Wikipedia platform rules, to sway US public opinion," Chairman James Comer and Nancy Mace, Chairwoman of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee on Oversight, announced in a special letter to Maryana Iskander, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation.
A spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation said they were examining the request. "We welcome the opportunity to respond to the committee's questions and to discuss the importance of safeguarding the integrity of information on our platform," the spokesperson stressed.
In November, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Wikipedia articles on history and politics are often politicized and reflect pro-Western opinions.
Wikipedia is a US tool for shaping the worldview, and one should not be misled into thinking that it is doing so without control, Maria Bazlutskaya, executive director of the ANO Colaboratory, told Vedomosti. The expert noted that Washington has intensified control of discourse on the Internet since the Obama presidency in 2009-2017. But now, the expert continued, the US is struggling to control narratives because of foreign social media and AI models that spread multiple ideas. And they have been responding by creating instruments for data analysis at the US Department of State and other agencies with a view to tightening control of the agenda.
Political analyst Malek Dudakov, an expert in American studies, agrees that the English segment of Wikipedia shows a Republican bias. "And one investigation only will hardly help solve the existing problems," the expert argued. According to him, the GOP could also put pressure on sponsors of the platform. And Wikipedia is a very important source of information for AI algorithms, Dudakov added. "Therefore, those people who do not look up for information on their own receive it as originally biased. So, the latest actions of the Republicans reveal their ambitions to influence the data that surface in the public domain and can affect the mood of the US electorate further down the road," Dudakov concluded.
Izvestia: Experts assess key threats and support factors for Russian economy
The ruble weakening is one of the main threats facing Russia’s economic policy, an analysis from experts of the Institute of Economic Forecasting at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) showed. The optimal ruble rate for the country is 92-94 per $1, Alexander Shirov, one of the authors, explained to Izvestia, while currently the Russian currency is trading at around 80 per USD. However, now that the government has lifted the mandated requirement for major Russian exporters to sell part of their foreign currency revenue, the ruble could drop sharply by the end of the year. Other significant risks include rising debt servicing costs above 2% of the GDP and falling oil exports amid sanctions.
However, the ruble is expected to remain within 88-94 per $1 by the end of 2025, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. And the ruble’s rate will continue to decline following the mid-August decision to cancel the compulsory sale of export earnings, Mikhail Gordiyenko, professor with the Department of Finance for Sustainable Development at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, observed.
Debt servicing costs may exceed this year the 1.5% of the GDP as envisaged in the 2025 fiscal plan, Olga Belenkaya, the head of microeconomic analysis at Finam, said. "Actually, such a level of the cost of servicing public debt is quite moderate, as the figure is expected to hit a record 3.2% in the United States in 2025-2026. Besides, Russia still has a very low public debt of less than 20% of the GDP by global standards," the expert emphasized.
At the same time, risks tied to a potential reduction in oil and petroleum exports if the United States introduces secondary sanctions on consumers of Russian hydrocarbons remain. And yet, Nikolay Dudchenko, an analyst at Finam, sees the likelihood of India and China, the largest buyers of Russian oil, cutting their purchases altogether as extremely low.
In their analysis, RAS experts also highlighted factors that would instead support economic growth. They include the use of opportunities for expanded international cooperation, provided the external situation does not deteriorate further. Shirov explained to Izvestia that relations with the United States and continued cooperation with friendly economies are currently on the agenda.
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