Press review: EU eyes clash with Russia as Taurus missile strikes expected by July
Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, May 28th
MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. Russian forces carry out strikes on Ukrainian military targets, Europe prepares for an armed clash with Moscow, and Taurus cruise missiles may attack Russian soil this summer. These stories topped Wednesday's headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: Russia targeting Ukrainian military-industrial infrastructure
The Russian Armed Forces are carrying out strikes exclusively on Ukrainian military facilities and military-industrial infrastructure, according to a detailed list of targets that the Russian Defense Ministry made public on May 27. That said, the enemy is attacking civilian facilities on Russian territory, thus attempting to derail the initiatives on settling the conflict, experts believe. From May 20 through May 27, Russian air defense systems intercepted almost 2,500 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.
There is a significant difference between the way Russian forces and the Ukrainian army conduct combat, military expert Viktor Litovkin said.
Russia strikes Ukrainian military sites in retaliation to Kiev’s massive UAV attacks
"We are not delivering strikes on civilians or residential buildings, while this is primarily what the Ukrainian army does," he explained. "Why are they doing this? This is the approach of Bandera adherents, they’ve been acting this way since 1945. They intimidate people who do not want to live the way they want. It’s just that now they received new technical means. The statement by Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the permission to strike Russian regions with long-range Western weapons, including German missiles, is yet another step toward escalation."
The stance of Russia’s European and US opponents is quite clear: there is Russia, the embodiment of "evil" and there is Ukraine, the victim, said political scientist Denis Denisov. He thinks that for this reason, Western countries will continue to turn a blind eye to any actions by the Kiev regime and accuse Russia of brutality.
"In Donbass, it was absolutely the same," he reiterated. "An OSCE mission was working there, providing reports showing that by far not only one side was to blame. However, expert commentaries in the media were only about one party to the conflict," the expert explained.
Kiev aims to undermine peace talks and will resort to any provocations to this end, believes Diplomatic Academy Vice Principal Oleg Karpovich.
"Ukrainian authorities fear to anger Trump so will try to force a harsh response out of Moscow, counting on the US president’s emotional reaction," he noted. "It seems that responsible politicians must aspire for talks and ending the suffering of their citizens. But we are dealing with the junta which usurped power and is building a dictatorship under the cover of martial law. Additionally, Kiev’s backers in Europe are also pushing for a new round of hybrid war with Russia," the expert added.
Earlier, Moscow has already requested a session of the UN Security Council, analyst Tigran Meloyan from the HSE Mediterranean Studies Center reiterated.
"This is an important and correct step for the global community and Washington in particular to give special attention as to who is the real opponent of Russia-Ukraine talks initiated by Trump. It is extremely important to do so before Europe moves to a new level of escalation," the expert concluded.
Izvestia: Why EU is talking military clash with Russia again
The European Union is preparing for an armed clash with Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Izvestia. The EU’s position on Ukraine does not bring the political settlement any closer, while Brussels continues to pursue the goal of delivering a strategic defeat to Moscow, the diplomat noted. However, Russia continues the negotiation process. On May 27 in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Turkey is ready to host the next round of Russian-Ukrainian talks. The expert community believes that not only does Ankara wish to become the venue but also the mediator between Moscow and Kiev.
Merz’s latest remarks show Europeans are getting ready for revanche — expert
Relations between Russia and the EU remain strained. Moscow does not see any signs from the European Union about its inclination to resume contacts with Russia, Grushko said.
"If one looks at the policy and the process of the EU’s military development, it is obvious that these are preparations for a military conflict," he noted. "Their stance on the Ukrainian settlement and on the situation around Ukraine in general does not contain a single element bringing the political settlement closer. On the contrary, the European Union’s strategic goal is strategically defeating Russia and crippling it economically," the senior diplomat explained.
"A new sanctions package was introduced recently, which is above all hurting the economy of the European Union itself, especially of some of its members. Another sanctions package is in the works and no end to this is in sight," Grushko noted. "We are encountering endless threats, there is an attempt of pressure by force," he added.
Turkey wants to be not only the negotiating venue but also a mediator, Andrey Kortunov, an expert with the Valdai Discussion Club, believes. He reiterated that during the first talks between delegations on May 16, Turkish representatives were also present.
"Turkey does have such ambitions. This is a chance for it to play in a different league, to boost its status in global politics. I think they will aspire for a mediating role. But it is questionable, to what extent this is possible, because a mediator is always a figure equidistant from the argument’s participants. After all, on the majority of its positions, Turkey is much closer to Ukraine than to Russia. Turkey is a NATO member, carrying out military-technical cooperation with Ukraine," he told Izvestia.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Strikes with Taurus missiles expected no earlier than July
The Kiev regime, supported by a number of European countries, is taking steps to derail the negotiation process, the Russian Defense Ministry believes. According to the military agency, since May 20, Ukraine has intensified its attacks with drones and Western-made projectiles on civilian targets on Russian soil. If the situation remains unchanged, strikes with long-range high-precision weapons, including German Taurus cruise missiles, may be introduced. This will not break the situation on the frontline but will fuel the conflict’s escalation, experts believe.
"So far, there is no information as to which types of missiles will be supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces. A German-Swedish Taurus cruise missile is usually air-launched," retired Lieutenant General, military expert Yury Netkachev told the newspaper, adding that there are also ground and naval versions.
The time needed to train personnel capable of using such missiles may amount to 5-6 weeks. If Berlin approves Taurus deliveries, they may appear on the Ukrainian frontline by the end of July, the expert believes.
"There is no data in the open media about the Taurus’ combat use. But its tactical and technical properties are similar to Franco-British Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles. The Ukrainian armed forces have already used those, and Russian air defense systems were taking them down easily. So there’s confidence that German Taurus missiles will be successfully neutralized as well," the expert believes. According to him, the problem is that Taurus and Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG may be aimed at longer-range targets in Central Russia, as far as Moscow and beyond.
Vedomosti: Trump threatens to pull Harvard grants, redirect billions to trade schools
Almost $3 billion of grant money previously earmarked for Harvard may be redirected to American trade schools, US President Donald Trump said during his ongoing battle with the university. "I am considering taking three billion dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to trade schools all across our land," he wrote on the Truth Social network, his social media platform, adding that this will become a great investment for the US.
Trump wants the demand for types of education to be shaped not by the system of education itself but according to the needs of the private sector, Vladimir Vasilyev, senior research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, believes. According to the expert, in Trump’s understanding, the rejection of liberal arts in favor of technical majors will play an important role in preparing the American working class for the nation’s industrial renewal. However, the expert emphasized that this is a rather costly and lengthy procedure without any clear prospects of implementation.
Theoretically, Trump may attempt to reallocate the funds if they are within the same channel, said Director of the Center for North American Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Victoria Zhuravleva. For example, Harvard receives some funds via the National Science Foundation. However, this organization usually does not provide grants to trade schools, while any redistribution within this channel is technically impossible. That said, the administration may seek other ways. The expert believes that if such an attempt is made, Harvard will go to court again.
Even if Trump decides to redistribute the funds in the amount of up to $5.2 billion, then a full-fledged updating of the professional training system in these schools is practically unfeasible for this amount of money, because there are too many of them, believes Maria Bazlutskaya, executive director of the ANO Colaboratory.
Vedomosti: Developer outlines cost estimate of Baikal aircraft
The cost of the Baikal aircraft being developed for local aviation will range from 220 to 340 million rubles (about $2.76-$4.27 million — TASS), Leonid Luzgin, director general of the Ural Civil Aviation Factory which designs and produces the plane, said in an interview with Vedomosti.
The aircraft’s price corresponds to the market and is on par with that of a US-made single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan, he explained.
According to the estimate by Oleg Panteleyev, executive director of the Aviaport agency, it is not Baikal’s price but the size of a lease payment that matters to operators. Additionally, the government may use state support measures which will make the use of Baikal more accessible to airlines and reduce the impact on ticket costs.
Baikal does not have to compete with Cessna planes, believes Ilya Shatilin, main editor of the Frequentflyers.ru portal. The acquisition of US-made planes is restricted by sanctions, and any potential volumes of production of the Baikal planes will be easily absorbed by the domestic market, the expert said.
