MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. Russia has begun retaliatory operations against Ukraine, aiming to reduce Kiev’s military capabilities and encourage negotiations; the escalation around Lebanon is jeopardizing the implementation of any potential agreements between the US and Iran; and the EU should reconsider completely phasing out Russian LNG exports. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: Russia's retaliatory strikes increase pressure on Kiev
In response to the terrorist attack in Starobelsk, Russia carried out retaliatory strikes against Ukraine, aiming to reduce Kiev’s military capabilities and encourage negotiations. Following the terrorist attack in Starobelsk, the Russian Armed Forces launched a massive strike against Ukrainian defense industry facilities, military infrastructure, and logistics hubs in the early morning hours of June 2. Military experts believe Russia is transitioning to regular, combined attacks on Ukrainian factories, headquarters, communications hubs, warehouses, and air defense systems. The impact of this tactic on negotiations depends on whether the West can compensate Kiev for its losses in weapons, infrastructure, and air defense capabilities.
The more Ukraine’s ability to conduct military operations declines, the greater the chances for substantive discussions on contentious issues, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large for the crimes of the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. "These strikes are aimed exclusively at reducing Ukraine’s military capabilities so that the West can do as little as possible to bolster them. If the volume of Western supplies to Kiev changes, then there will be something to talk about," he said.
A new massive strike took place in the early morning hours of June 2. In essence, the regular and systematic attacks that the Russian leadership had warned about in advance have begun, military expert Dmitry Kornev noted. "The geographical scope turned out to be extensive. The targets included defense plants, military headquarters, and communications centers in Kiev, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, and several other regions of Ukraine," he noted. According to Kornev, the operation's main feature is its combined approach using both drones and missiles. "This combination allows Russia to solve two important tasks at once. The first is to destroy the targets themselves, such as factories, warehouses, and headquarters. The second is to expose and suppress Ukrainian air defense," the expert noted.
As a result, the enemy loses not only military facilities, but also costly air defense systems that were intended to protect them. This is particularly painful for Kiev because such losses can only be replaced with new Western supplies. "However, one shouldn’t expect the Ukrainian army to surrender immediately after a single raid of this kind. It inherited a powerful defense infrastructure from the Soviet era. Many factories were built with the expectation of surviving a major war, and their key workshops are hidden deep underground in concrete shelters," military expert Viktor Litovkin emphasized. According to him, crippling the capabilities of the Ukrainian military requires methodically striking two main supply arteries. The first is the railway hubs on the borders with Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, through which Western weapons are transported. The second is the sea and river ports, including Odessa, Nikolayev, Reni, and Izmail.
The Russian army is advancing on several fronts and continues to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure. As a result, the negotiation process is increasingly determined by the actual balance of power on the battlefield: if the West swiftly replaces Kiev’s losses, Ukraine will be able to maintain its current position. However, if the strikes become regular and the pace of Western support slows, Ukraine’s negotiating position will weaken, which will serve as an additional lever of pressure on Kiev, Izvestia emphasized.
Media: Israel could derail potential US-Iran deal
The escalation around Lebanon is jeopardizing the implementation of any agreements reached between the US and Iran, experts believe. Earlier, the Israeli army intensified its offensive in southern Lebanon, continuing its operations against the Shia group Hezbollah. Following this, Tehran threatened to walk away from talks with Washington, prompting a strong reaction from Donald Trump. According to media reports, he lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US continues to seek agreements and keeps the diplomatic channel with Iran open.
"The escalation around Lebanon and strikes on targets linked to Hezbollah could jeopardize the implementation of any agreements reached. From Tehran’s perspective, this could be perceived as a violation of the terms of the deal, which would inevitably complicate or even disrupt the implementation of its other provisions. Therefore, the Lebanese factor remains one of the key potential obstacles on the path to a sustainable US-Iran agreement," Ivan Bocharov, program manager at the Russian International Affairs Council, told Izvestia.
Rumors of a deterioration in relations between Trump and Netanyahu are deliberate leaks, Pavel Koshkin, a senior researcher at the US and Canadian Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Vedomosti. According to him, the goal is to ease tensions within the MAGA camp, whose members criticize the US being drawn into a war against Iran. "Trump has been backed into a corner. He cannot exert real pressure on the Israelis. The situation may change slightly if pro-Israel interest groups lose their Republican allies in the midterm elections. Then, it will be easier for Trump to pressure Netanyahu. However, this is unlikely to weaken the alliance between Israel and the US," the expert emphasized.
In its military operation in Lebanon, Israel is trying to kill two birds with one stone: to finally get rid of Iran’s allies in the region and, if possible, to derail US-Iranian talks, Kamran Hasanov, a political science doctor at the University of Salzburg, noted. However, Nikolay Sukhov, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ World Economy and International Relations Institute, doubts that Israel has expanded its ground operation in southern Lebanon to derail US-Iranian talks. According to him, the Israeli authorities are also using the Lebanese campaign to address domestic issues. Despite the declared ceasefire, Israel is unlikely to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in the near future, Hasanov pointed out.
According to Sukhov, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah announced by Trump will not bring the war to an end. The intensity of the fighting may decrease and hostilities may cease temporarily, if only to appease Trump. Nevertheless, the parties will carry out targeted strikes from time to time, the expert stressed.
Izvestia: Will EU be able to replace Russian LNG, as it plans to do?
The EU is preparing to completely phase out Russian LNG from January 1, 2027. To do so, EU member states will have to replace approximately 12 million tons of Russian supplies currently provided under long-term contracts. Replacement could prove problematic given tensions on the global energy market: Europe will have to compete with Asia for available supplies. Experts believe Russian volumes can realistically be replaced by US and West African supplies. However, this may be more expensive due to the costs associated with liquefaction, delivery, insurance, and regasification.
Paradoxically, until supplies from Russia to Europe are completely halted, they are not decreasing but actually rising. According to preliminary data from the global financial company LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group), Russia exported 14.5 million tons of LNG to all foreign markets from January to May of 2026. Of this volume, 7.7 million tons were exported to Europe, which is 16.7% more than during the same period last year. The primary buyers of Russian LNG in Europe are large energy companies. These include France’s TotalEnergies, Germany’s SEFE (formerly a Gazprom subsidiary), and Spain’s Naturgy (formerly Gas Natural Fenosa).
According to Russian National Energy Institute Deputy Director Alexander Frolov, the EU’s decision to cut off Russian energy supplies appears risky. Brussels is counting on a decline in demand, increased energy efficiency, and a future supply surplus. However, these plans were made under different circumstances, and political decisions may now conflict with energy realities. "The EU will likely be able to replace Russian LNG with supplies from the Atlantic Basin, primarily from the US, where many new projects are coming online this year and next. To a lesser extent, it will come from West Africa," European analytical company Kpler told Izvestia.
Because of this, Europe will have to compete with Asia for available supplies. If the EU wants gas, it must offer a higher price. If it is not willing to pay more, demand will decline due to the high cost of fuel rather than as originally planned. "About 70% of all liquefied natural gas in the world is sold in the Asia-Pacific region. China and Japan together import more LNG than all of Europe combined. Therefore, Russia will ship LNG to Asia. It is the largest market and a growing one," Frolov said.
At the same time, the European market remains significant for Russia. The expert estimates that the EU accounts for approximately 50% of Russian LNG supplies. At the same time, exports to Europe were convenient primarily due to geographical proximity. According to Frolov’s rough estimate, if Russia were to withdraw from the European market, it would have to redirect about 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year to other destinations.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russia’s FSB uncovers scheme to install spyware on officials' smartphones
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has uncovered a large-scale scheme by foreign intelligence services to install spyware on high-ranking Russian officials' smartphones. The software allowed for the interception of conversations and covert audio and video surveillance near the infected devices. Moreover, the officials who were bugged were subsequently placed on US and EU sanctions lists. Foreign intelligence agencies targeted Russian citizens with the help of major IT corporations that officially advocate for internet freedom and the protection of user data privacy.
As Rossiyskaya Gazeta learned from the FSB’s press office, representatives of foreign intelligence services gained access to the devices of cyberattack targets using the technical capabilities of major international IT corporations. Specifically, the FSB named the companies Cloudflare and Fastly in San Francisco and London, as well as an office at 19 Union Square West in New York.
According to retired FSB Major General Alexander Perelygin, Western intelligence agencies have full covert access to data from smartphones and other gadgets thanks to the covert activities of the companies that develop them. "There is a specific technology for processing large data sets that utilizes elements of artificial intelligence and powerful computers. This technology makes it possible to uncover significant patterns in human behavior and past and future events. It can also reveal hidden motives and intentions," he said.
"In reality, smartphones have practically no secure elements. This raises the question: is it even possible to do anything? Encryption on the phone itself makes it possible," retired FSB Lieutenant General Alexander Baranov, who is also a member of the Russian Cryptography Academy, noted. However, modern phones available for general use do not provide for this.
"Although spyware programs erase traces of their presence on a smartphone and use servers unrelated to their operators to control the device, analyzing the code of such programs often reveals information about the control servers, such as domains and IP addresses. Moreover, attackers are human too. They develop consistent patterns, such as their style of writing application code, typical errors, code comments, and methods of distributing malicious applications. By cross-referencing all this data with information from various sources, we can say with a certain degree of certainty who is behind the attack," Vitaly Titarenko, a specialist with the Positive Technologies Mobile Device Research Group, emphasized.
At the same time, according to information security experts, no smartphone has fully reliable security features.
Vedomosti: Why Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic sets his sights on prime minister’s post
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is considering the possibility of becoming prime minister following the 2026 parliamentary elections. He previously held that office from 2014 to 2017. Vucic’s second five-year term expires in 2027, and the constitution does not allow for a third term. Earlier, the Serbian leader suggested the possibility of ending his term early, criticizing protests in the country, which he called "educational genocide" due to the participation of students. He believes that the West is attempting to orchestrate a "color revolution" in the country.
Vucic is clearly trying to clear the way for his future protege, Yakov Smirnov, a research fellow at the Slavic Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Vedomosti. According to him, given that Vucic’s image has become increasingly toxic in Serbian society in recent years, there is a possibility that he will try to promote his own candidate under the guise of an independent candidate.
For now, Vucic’s statements about his intention to run for prime minister do little to alter the configuration of power in Serbia, Anastasia Maleshevich, a research fellow at MGIMO’s International Relations Institute, noted. The Serbian president has secured the support of foreign partners, and the formal opposition is unpopular, she said. Vucic’s strategy and that of his allies could still change significantly due to a number of unknown variables, political scientist Oleg Bondarenko stressed. According to him, potential presidential candidates are not yet fully defined.
According to Smirnov, since Vucic intends to pave the way for his future protege, no prominent politicians are expected to run in the upcoming elections. "But there is no doubt that a transition of power has begun in Serbia. It will be difficult for Vucic, his allies, and his party to retain power at its current level," Bondarenko noted.
The political realignment in Serbia is taking place amid rumors of a threat to ties with Russia. Former Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin suggested that Belgrade’s relations with Moscow could deteriorate after Vucic’s departure and the rise of pro-European forces to power. "If pro-European parties take power, Russia should not count on having an ally anymore," Vulin emphasized, alluding to the upcoming parliamentary elections.
According to Bondarenko, much of how the situation in Serbia unfolds in 2026 depends on how Brussels behaves: whether it continues to apply pressure, gets involved in protests, supports the opposition, or simply stands by and watches. For now, due to the lack of strong pro-Western movements in Serbia, it is premature to speak of any possible pro-Western shift in the country, such as joining anti-Russian sanctions or introducing a visa regime, Smirnov pointed out.
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