Press review: EU divided on Ukrainian reparations loan as Denmark targets Russian tankers
Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, October 2nd
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron
MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. The EU is divided over a proposal to fund a Ukrainian "reparations loan" with frozen Russian assets; Denmark and its allies are preparing tougher measures against tankers carrying Russian oil through the Baltic straits; and the IAEA raises concerns over safety at the Zaporozhye after shelling. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: EU split grows over proposal to fund Ukrainian 'reparations loan' with frozen Russian assets
The division within the European Union is intensifying over a new initiative to establish a reparations loan for Ukraine backed by Russian holdings. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Brussels to abandon excessive bureaucracy, while French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warn of breaches of international law. Yet, only days earlier, France and Germany, within the framework of the Weimar Triangle, had voiced support for the idea of employing Russian assets. Attempts to seize Russian property will trigger a painful mirror response, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
EU leaders fail to resolve most of key issues at Denmark summit — Politico
"Whichever option Brussels ultimately chooses, manipulating frozen sovereign assets without Russia’s consent constitutes a gross violation not only of international law, but also of contractual law. Russia has not authorized any such operations. Actions that involve altering the legal status of Russian assets will no longer mean a freeze, but rather the unauthorized management of foreign property — in other words, essentially theft," the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
"The overwhelming majority of experts argue that the risks of outright confiscation for the dollar and euro systems are far greater than the potential benefits from employing these funds — primarily because of the precedent it would set and the erosion of trust in the financial jurisdiction of Western countries," Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for International Studies of MGIMO, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egor Sergeyev told Izvestia.
"In the short term, no consensus on this matter can be reached, if only because none exists even within the European Union. And in the United States, even under the Biden administration, it has been concluded that from a legal standpoint, this scheme is extremely precarious," a leading expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Pavel Zakharov told the newspaper.
According to Vladimir Vasiliev, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute for the US and Canadian Studies, Washington is unlikely to risk its reputation over $5 bln, but may well push Europe in that direction — in which case European capital will begin to flow into the United States.
"The initiators and participants of expropriation measures are guaranteed to face consequences. Moreover, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, attempts to seize Russian property will provoke a painful retaliatory response. Russia has at its disposal a sufficient arsenal of countermeasures and the ability to deliver an appropriate political and economic answer," the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.
First, the measures could be legal in nature, since what is at stake is a violation of international law. Second, the response could be purely economic. Moscow has already developed a system of specific steps, such as temporary management of the property of companies from unfriendly states, or the transfer of such assets to state ownership or to the Central Bank as compensation for any seizures, the newspaper writes.
Izvestia: Denmark prepares forceful steps against tankers carrying Russian oil
Danish authorities, together with their allies, are preparing coercive measures aimed at hindering the transportation of Russian oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Russian Embassy in Copenhagen told Izvestia. The embassy emphasized that the kingdom’s police special forces are training for operations involving tankers. Ukrainian authorities and radical voices within NATO are calling for the total closure of the Baltic Sea to Russian vessels. Experts, however, believe that tighter rules are more likely, while the West is unlikely to risk a serious escalation.
Russia rejects all accusations regarding drones’ incident in Denmark — embassy
"Denmark, together with its allies, is consistently preparing new measures designed to obstruct the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas by our country through the Baltic (Danish) straits. The focus is on tankers of the so-called shadow fleet. In particular, the possibility of forceful actions against them is being considered — ranging from the boarding of inspection groups to detentions. The police special forces are practicing such possible operations," the Russian Embassy in Denmark told Izvestia.
Diplomats stressed that the Danish Maritime Authority has already ordered stricter rules for servicing tankers carrying Russian oil. Pressure is also being exerted on shipyards to compel a complete refusal to provide services to vessels with even the slightest connection to Russia.
Back in February, Copenhagen tightened controls on the passage of tankers, citing the "protection of the environment." The real goal, however, is to impede Russia’s ability to transport oil and gas. Brussels has already blacklisted more than 500 vessels that, according to EU officials, are used to ship Russian resources, Izvestia writes.
"Danish authorities could indeed introduce somewhat harsher measures for the inspection of vessels under the pretext of protecting the environment and ensuring maritime safety. However, there are limits set by international law," Nikita Lipunov, Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of International Studies at MGIMO University, explained to Izvestia.
"It is unlikely that the Danish authorities would dare to completely close these straits to Russia, since this would mean a significant escalation of confrontation between Russia and NATO," the expert added.
Vedomosti: Does situation at Zaporozhye NPP threaten 'Fukushima scenario'?
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is urging Russia and Ukraine to cooperate on repairs at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which is controlled by Rosatom and has been without its regular external power supply for nearly 10 days due to a transmission line breakdown caused by shelling. The situation at the plant is "unstable," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated on October 1. As of October 2, this has become the longest external power disruption since March 2022. Experts told Vedomosti that while diesel generators can sustain the plant for a long period and even mobile backups are available, they remain only a fragile last line of defense, and restoring external power is essential to avoid the risk of a Fukushima-like accident.
Concerns over the ZNPP intensified on September 23, when the plant lost its last external 750 kV high-voltage line, the Dneprovskaya line. The ZNPP’s press service, since October 2022 operated by a newly created Rosenergoatom subsidiary, accused Ukraine of shelling that destroyed the line. Plant officials said that both personnel and fuel are available to repair the damaged line, but military operations have made the work impossible. According to IAEA observers stationed at the facility, fuel stocks for the emergency diesel generators will last about 20 days.
"Any nuclear power unit, once shut down, becomes an electricity consumer rather than a supplier," Alexander Uvarov, editor of the specialized portal Atominfo told Vedomosti. This occurs because nuclear fuel continues to generate heat. "Although the power is small — megawatts rather than hundreds or thousands of megawatts during nominal operation — it must still be removed, which requires electricity from external sources," Uvarov noted. If an offline reactor loses the ability to draw external electricity, onsite reserve diesel generators are launched to meet all cooling needs. However, these generators require steady diesel fuel supplies.
The plant should be able to run on diesel generators for an extended period, independent nuclear energy expert Valentin Gibalov told the newspaper. Should the stationary generators fail, mobile ones could be brought in, as there are several minutes’ margin to resume water pumping — similar to what happened at Fukushima.
Still, the risk of nuclear accidents is so high that even minor vulnerabilities cause alarm, Gibalov added. Grossi’s concern is understandable, Uvarov noted that reliance on diesel generators represents "the last line of defense." The loss of this safety barrier would risk fuel meltdown, hydrogen explosions, damage to containment structures, and the release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere, as occurred at Fukushima.
Vedomosti: Trump-led budget standoff triggers first US government shutdown since 2019
For the first time since 2019, the United States has entered a government shutdown. The closure began on the morning of October 1, Moscow time, after Congress failed to approve either an annual budget or interim funding. Republicans, led by US President Donald Trump, and Democrats were unable to reach agreement on adopting temporary funding, known as a "continuing resolution," which would have allowed the government to continue operating for a limited period. Analysts interviewed by Vedomosti believe the shutdown may continue for weeks or months, potentially hurting Republicans more than Democrats, though both sides are using it for political leverage.
US government partially shuts down due to lack of funding
One of the main points of contention was the reduction of spending on social programs, including healthcare, which Democrats oppose. They also voiced concerns that the administration might withhold part of the already approved funding for social and other programs. Although Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, they were unable to secure Senate approval for their version of the temporary funding bill. Advancing the bill to a vote requires 60 votes in the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
In the current political climate, the shutdown could theoretically last weeks or even months until the parties reach an agreement, emphasized Pavel Koshkin, senior researcher at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies told Vedomosti. He argued that the shutdown may ultimately undermine Republican electoral prospects more than Democratic ones. At the same time, he noted that both parties intend to exploit the situation for domestic political gain: Democrats have gained an additional opportunity to criticize Republicans, while the latter, led by Trump, can use the shutdown to advance at least part of their program to shrink the federal government.
This interpretation is supported by a letter circulated by the Office of Management and Budget to federal agencies at the end of September, published by PBS. The letter emphasized that the suspension of funding for certain programs during the shutdown automatically renders their support non-mandatory. Agencies were instructed to use this opportunity to further reduce staff.
According to Koshkin, one of the most likely ways to resolve the shutdown is through negotiations to preserve budget guarantees for social and healthcare benefits for low-income and working populations. "This is entirely possible, as past experience shows," he concluded.
Kommersant: Short-term factors boost ruble amid expectations of renewed dollar recovery
At the start of the Q4 of 2025, the Russian currency showed firm gains, with the over-the-counter dollar rate falling to 81 rubles per dollar for the first time in a month. Analysts interviewed by Kommersant attribute this to an excessive provision of foreign currency from exporters making loan repayments opened in early September for tax settlements, coupled with a sharp decline in need from importers during China’s extended holiday period. However, these are considered temporary factors, and market participants expect the dollar to recover by mid-month.
On October 1, the over-the-counter dollar rate dropped to 81 rubles per dollar. Since the start of the week, the dollar has fallen by 2.4 rubles, losing all the gains it had accumulated in the first half of September ahead of the Bank of Russia’s key rate meeting. Trading in the Chinese yuan was no less turbulent. The exchange rate fell below 11.4 rubles per yuan, 1.1% lower than Tuesday’s closing level and 1.8% below the previous week’s close. These declines occurred despite no noticeable increase in investor activity.
Typically, the beginning of a calendar month is unfavorable for the ruble, as exporters reduce foreign currency supply after the end of the tax period. In addition, oil market dynamics have also turned against the Russian currency. According to Investing.com, Brent crude prices on the spot market declined 5% since the start of the week to $65.3 per barrel, nearing their lowest level since early June.
A financial market source told Kommersant that the sharp decline in exchange rates was triggered by the sale of a large batch of currency by a limited group of exporters. "After the mandatory sales requirement was abolished, exporters began taking pauses, and this is reflected in increased volatility," Chief Investment Officer at Astra Asset Management Dmitry Polevoy. In addition, the Bank of Russia continues to sell yuan daily on the exchange for 10.3 bln rubles ($125 mln). Even with evenly distributed bids, this applies pressure on the market.
"The current strengthening of the ruble does not appear to be fundamentally justified. It is more likely that the ruble will revert to a gradual weakening trend than continue to strengthen," Head of the Analytical Department at Zenit Bank Vladimir Evstifeev noted. That’s why the elevated supply of foreign currency will not last longer than 7-10 days.
