MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. Kiev refuses to accept the bodies of its fallen soldiers; Donald Trump’s clash with Elon Musk points to a growing crisis of the US leader’s policies; and Lebanon is facing the risk of another escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. These stories have topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Media: Kiev refuses to accept bodies of fallen soldiers
The world will remember Ukraine’s refusal to take back its fallen soldiers; a political entity like that has no prospects, Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Izvestia. Earlier, Kiev delayed accepting the bodies of service members and exchanging prisoners of war. The reasons lie in the risk of popular discontent over the scale of troop losses, and in Ukraine’s partial default, experts say.
Ukraine should accept the bodies of its soldiers from Russia as it underscores the importance of the negotiation process that concerns not only crucial political and military issues, but humanitarian matters as well. Such moves could boost efforts to strengthen mutual trust, European Parliament Member Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia.
There could be an economic aspect to the reasons why Ukraine is reluctant to accept the bodies because the families of the service members killed in action are entitled to payments of up to 15 million hryvnias ($360,000) each. Earlier, the S&P Global Ratings agency confirmed Ukraine’s rating at the SD/SD level (Selective Default). Compensations would amount to a lot of money, which the Ukrainian budget cannot afford at the moment, Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of Moscow State Pedagogical University’s Institute of History and Politics, pointed out. "It’s absolutely clear that the Kiev regime will not make compensation payments. As a result, popular discontent could grow into political problems," the political scientist elaborated.
By stalling the process of accepting the bodies of its soldiers, Kiev is making it clear that it has no plans to make agreements with Moscow, Vladimir Bruter, an expert with the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, told Vedomosti.
Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky, associate professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, does not rule out that conditions are not there yet for hostilities in Ukraine to end. On the one hand, Russia has not achieved all of its declared goals yet. On the other, Kiev has not yet run out of resources to continue its military resistance. In addition, the European Union is in no mood to end the armed confrontation in its current form, Ofitserov-Belsky concluded. As for the US, it’s not ready to exert pressure on the parties to make them accept Russia’s conditions to end the crisis, Bruter added.
Media: Feud with Musk signals escalating crisis in Trump’s policies
A feud between US President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has been one of the most widely discussed international events over the past several days. The US Republican Party is facing the risk of losing its key sponsor. Meanwhile, Trump’s supporters have seen with their own eyes that his policies are far more chaotic than they thought. All this increases the likelihood that the president will lose grip on Congress in the next election, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
In fact, Trump and Musk have clashed over two things. The first was the president’s refusal to appoint businessman Jared Isaacman, a friend of Musk’s, to head NASA. But the main issue that turned Musk and Trump against each other was a budget bill proposed by the president. Musk was infuriated by a sharp rise in government spending (largely on defense), which he saw as the ruining of everything that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had done, as well as by a reduction in tax incentives, particularly for electric car producers - a move that would deal a direct blow to the interests of the Tesla CEO.
Vladimir Vasilyev, senior research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, believes that based on his four-month work with the president, Musk has condemned Trump’s policy on behalf of the business circles that expected the new head of state to bring change. "The president’s supporters thought that even though he’s an elderly person and a former showman, there’s a strategy behind his love for extravagant moves. But now, Musk says that there is no strategy at all. Trump really turns everything into a show with nothing behind it. Look at the tariffs, the Ukraine issue and many other things. A lot of loud promises have been made but in fact, nothing has been done on any issue," Vasilyev explained.
The feud between Trump and Musk has made some Democrats hint at a possible alliance with the latter, Vedomosti notes. However, Musk will stick to Republicans for ideological reasons, Vasilyev said.
Musk has mentioned the possibility of establishing a third party, but the prospects for it look unlikely, Pavel Dubravsky, head of Dubravsky Consulting, observed. Although the entrepreneur has enough resources to create a party like that, the American political system is designed in such a way that third parties rarely get significant voter support and are unable to make a serious political impact. The expert points out that it would be more effective for Musk to support anti-Trump candidates within the Republican Party because the establishment of a new political force is more likely to weaken Republicans by pulling away some of their voters rather than to harm Democrats.
Izvestia: Lebanon could face renewed confrontation between Israel, Hezbollah
The Palestinian Authority is ready to initiate the withdrawal of weapons from refugee camps in Lebanon, Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, told Izvestia. The decision stems from the agreements reached during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Beirut in May. However, there are doubts about the success of this initiative because the camps particularly host Hamas supporters that don’t recognize the authority of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Meanwhile, tensions have once again intensified in southern Lebanon. Ongoing diplomatic efforts failed to prevent another round of violence. Early on June 6, the Israeli Air Force carried out a series of massive strikes on the Hezbollah movement’s stronghold in southern Beirut. Israel claimed that the attack had targeted underground facilities involved in the Shia movement’s drone production. The Israeli authorities also said they would continue attacks until Hezbollah completely disarmed, and added that the strikes constituted a warning.
According to Jamal Wakim, a professor at Lebanese University, Israel’s strikes on the southern outskirts of Beirut should be seen as part of broader efforts to put pressure on Hezbollah and even on the Lebanese government.
These attacks were part of an Israeli campaign aimed not only at disarming Hezbollah but also at completely crippling it, the expert emphasized. In his view, Israel’s actions are accompanied by political pressure from the United States, which is aimed at eliminating the movement’s military wing as a balance factor in the region. Meanwhile, in Wakim’s words, Hezbollah continues to follow a cautious strategy, assessing the domestic situation in Lebanon and the overall situation in the region, particularly given the consequences of a government change in Syria and broader geopolitical shocks. However, if Israel continues its strikes, it could force the movement to respond.
Hezbollah officials consider the recent strikes to be part of a wider campaign of pressure backed by the West. A movement spokesperson told the Al Jazeera TV channel that "Israel is escalating the situation under US cover" as "the Israeli government continues its war against Lebanon."
Vedomosti: Analysts expect Russia’s Central Bank to continue easing monetary policy
The Russian Central Bank’s Board of Directors decided to cut the key interest rate by 100 basis points to 20% at its June 6 meeting. The current inflationary pressure continues to decline as the Russian economy is gradually returning to steady growth, Vedomosti reports, citing the regulator.
The key rate reduction, albeit a slight one, reduces borrowing costs and provides businesses with additional room for maneuver in terms of financial planning, Alexey Lazutin, head of the Business Russia organization’s subcommittee on public capital markets, believes. He notes that this is especially important for companies with high debt burdens and those facing rising costs and the need to invest in development. According to Lazutin, the Central Bank’s decision largely paves the way for stabilizing the financial situation of Russian companies.
The move to ease the monetary policy should not lead to a sharp weakening of the Russian ruble, Finam analyst Alexander Potavin said. Sovcombank Chief Analyst Mikhail Vasilyev is also confident that the Central Bank’s decision would not affect the ruble’s exchange rate much because the key rate remains high and will continue to support the Russian currency.
The regulator seeks to make the market understand that the current decision is more likely aimed at adapting its tough monetary policy to moderating inflation without announcing plans to keep reducing the key rate, Olga Belenkaya, head of macroeconomic analysis at Finam, observed. Finam’s baseline forecast suggests that the key rate could be further reduced to 16% by the end of the year but the process will depend on the pace of inflation and the factors that affect inflation, both internal and external, Belenkaya said.
The key rate could decline to 18% by the end of the year if inflation slows to 6% in December, while the 17% level is also possible, Valery Vaisberg, director of analytics at the Region investment company, predicts. Vasilyev expects that without major geopolitical changes, the key rate could be reduced to 14% by the end of 2025.
Kommersant: China sharply increases Russian coal imports
China, the largest importer of Russian thermal coal, boosted purchases in May to the highest level since the beginning of 2024. The rise stems from a dry spring, which reduced the performance of hydroelectric power stations, as well as from a decline in domestic coal output and the start of a downward trend in port stocks. In addition, South Korea could also become an attractive market for Russia, Kommersant notes.
Yevgeny Grachev, director of the Price Index Center, says that Chinese importers are interested in Russian coal because it is cheaper than the coal that producers offer on China’s domestic market. Not many Chinese companies can continue reducing prices due to higher costs, the expert points out. However, he warned that on the other hand, the situation is creating risks for further exports to China. "Domestic energy companies are losing interest in purchasing Chinese coal based on long-term contracts, focusing on buying coal on the spot market at lower prices. There is increasing talk on the market about the potential introduction of control over imports," Grachev explained.
NEFT Research analysts believe that South Korea will be a key destination for Russian coal exports in the near future. The prices of high-calorific coal have been on the rise in the country due to high demand from utility companies and a series of new tenders, while concerns about sanctions against Russian coal have apparently eased, analysts point out.
India remained the main destination for Russian coking coal exports in May. Exports grew 1.5-fold compared to April and 1.7-fold year-on-year. Boris Krasnozhyonov, head of securities market analysis at Alfa-Bank, says that India’s demand for coking coal stems from the rising production of crude steel. Maria Kolomiyets, corporate ratings director at Expert RA, adds that India’s export growth was supported by the easing of tensions with Pakistan, which had raised fears about supplies and trade in general on India's western coast. Besides, the prices of Russian coking coal are more competitive for buyers from India and Japan than those of Australian and Indonesian coal, Ilya Makarov, director of corporate ratings at AKRA, stressed.
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