Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump held a phone call on Tuesday as Israel resumed its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark allocate around $12 billion to support Ukraine. These stories topped Wednesday's newspaper headlines in Russia, according to TASS news agency.
Vedomosti: Putin, Trump hold their second phone call
On Tuesday evening Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, held more than an hour-long phone call, NBC News reported, citing White House sources. Soon after the call ended, the Kremlin and the White House released official readouts, with Russia’s account of the talks being twice as long and detailed as the US one.
The fact that the two leaders sustain cooperation without delegating the authority to negotiate to their ministers or aides is what stands out most about Tuesday’s talks, Dmitry Novikov, an associate professor at the Department of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics, remarked. This demonstrates how Moscow and Washington maintain the political will both to work towards building bridges on Ukraine and to continue advancing bilateral relations in general, the expert noted. However, he pointed to high expectations stemming from years of tension and the current moment. "I believe the main outcome of this conversation is the materialized US ambition to convince the Russian leadership of the irreversibility of the peace process in Ukraine and the viability of the new policy course regarding Europe," Novikov said. According to him, while one should not expect any significant breakthrough toward ending the conflict "here and now," Washington should perhaps define a clear position on weapons supplies to Ukraine and framework of a long-lasting settlement so that these negotiations can be considered a meaningful step forward.
To Ilya Kravchenko, adviser to the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, yesterday’s call means that Moscow and Washington have fully revived dialogue. The Putin-Trump phone call was a milestone because they discussed not only Ukraine, but other issues surrounding the bilateral relationship, the expert maintained.
In an interview with Vedomosti, Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, highlighted Russia’s readiness to a mutual 30-day energy and infrastructure ceasefire and to begin technical negotiations on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea as a good-will gesture. "This shows [Russia’s] readiness to conduct a constructive dialogue with Trump and is a major step forward," the expert said. Also, he emphasized the importance of statements about the intention to set up expert groups, for exactly experts carry out meaningful work on exploring problematic topics. "This translates the dialogue into the subject plane," Suslov said as he stressed that certain risks that may still be posed by Kiev and some European countries seeking to disrupt negotiations remain.
Vedomosti: Israel resumes strikes in Gaza
Early on Tuesday morning, Israel reinitiated an active military operation against the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip after an almost two-month ceasefire. Israel also closed the Rafah Crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt, a gateway for humanitarian aid entry to the Palestinian enclave, a European diplomat told The Times of Israel. Avichay Adraee, who heads the Arab media division of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson’s Unit, posted a map of "dangerous combat zones" in Gaza urging Palestinians to evacuate on X. As a result of Israeli attacks, 404 Palestinians have already been killed, with 562 others being wounded, according to Palestine’s Health Ministry. Those killed include a number of prominent Hamas officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commanded the strikes on the day when he was to testify in his corruption trial. The court postponed his testimony due to the resumed Gaza war.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and called on the opposing sides to return to negotiations to find "a mutually acceptable compromise."
Restarting the Gaza war was a matter of time, as the Israel-Hamas talks on the execution of stage 2 of their ceasefire deal have not yielded any results yet, Lyudmila Samarskaya, researcher at the Center for Middle East Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told Vedomosti. From Israel’s point of view, only military pressure on Hamas can be an effective instrument for releasing hostages, the expert said. "A permanent ceasefire has been highly unlikely amid the internal political situation in Israel, with far-right parties that insist on continuing the war playing an important role. The coalition is fragile without them," she explained.
The Jewish state has been putting pressure on Hamas to release hostages and implement the Witkoff plan, as during the ceasefire Palestinian radicals tried to make maximum use of hostages to get the Israeli army out of the enclave, Middle East expert Ruslan Suleimanov argues. In turn, Israel has no other instrument of pressure on Hamas except military force, the expert continues. As the Israeli army has failed to achieve its goals over the 18 months of its war against Hamas, it will hardly succeed in doing so in the latest escalation, Suleimanov believes.
Izvestia: Three Nordic countries give $12 bln to Kiev in 2025
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have allocated around $12 billion of support to Ukraine so far this year, the three countries’ embassies told Izvestia. In 2022-2024, the three Nordic kingdoms provided Kiev with a little more than $20 billion. And Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen are ready to deliver more weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces, despite the emerging dialogue between the United States and Russia toward resolving the Ukraine conflict.
Supporting Ukraine on a large scale advances the three countries’ defense industries, especially the Swedish one. Historical reasons and a hostile perception of Russia play a significant role here, too. Sweden, for instance, has waged wars against Russia a dozen times (or even 16, according to some data), and the Swedish elite has always viewed Russia as an existential threat.
Denmark’s anti-Russian stance largely derives from the kingdom’s close ties with Great Britain, which is not showing any willingness to engage with Russia, Vadim Trukhachev, an associate professor of international relations at the Russian State University for the Humanities, explained to Izvestia. "Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are the three countries with the fewest Russophiles globally - there are even more of those in Poland and the three Baltic states. And the situation is somewhat better in Norway," the expert said.
Despite Brussels’ pressure, the EU’s foreign ministers failed to reach a €40 billion aid package for Ukraine on March 17. Earlier, European diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas suggested giving "at least €20 billion" in military aid to Kiev this year, with the initiative potentially reaching €40 billion, "depending on the needs of the Ukrainians." Her plan also includes spending €5 billion on 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition for Kiev. According to AFP, Hungary, France, Italy, and Spain oppose this initiative.
If the EU fails to agree on a larger package for Kiev, the France-and UK-led "coalition of the willing" will step in. According to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the coalition may include over 30 countries, including the three Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Even as Oslo, like London, is not an EU member, it coordinates its policies tightly with Brussels, Trukhachev emphasized.
Izvestia: Russia’s Pacific Fleet warships hold joint exercise with Pakistani Navy
A group of Russian combat vessels, including the corvettes Rezky and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, and the medium sea tanker Pechenga from the Pacific Fleet, has held joint PASSEX maneuvers with the Pakistani Navy.
In the course of the exercise in the Arabian Sea, the two navies practiced joint maneuvering, involving deck helicopter crews, communication, and conducting inspections.
Russia has regularly participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) series with other countries. Last summer, the Russian and Egyptian navies held a joint exercise in the Mediterranean Sea.
"Russia and Pakistan have a long history of cooperation," Ilya Kramnik, research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told Izvestia. "While that has been overshadowed by Russia’s cooperation with India, Moscow maintains a working relationship with this country and never misses the opportunity to conduct joint events. The ultimate aim is to ensure stability and security in the region, particularly in the Indian Ocean," he explained.
On the one hand, cooperation between the two navies strengthens bilateral relations between Russia and Pakistan, and on the other hand, this is a major aspect of security in the Indian Ocean, the expert added, especially as the threat of piracy still looms over the Arabian Sea.
"Over the past few years, we have maintained an ongoing friendship with Pakistan, making visits, and they attended our naval parade in 2021," military expert Dmitry Boltenkov shared. He described the Pakistani Navy as quite interesting, with lots of European-made vessels. And now China is building a fleet for them, he added.
The joint exercise with the Pakistani Navy has been the Pacific Fleet’s second this year. In the latter half of February, the Russian fleet took part in naval maneuvers in Indonesia, involving the militaries from the United States, China, Japan, France, India, and Great Britain, among other countries. And earlier this month, the joint Maritime Security Belt 2025 exercise involving Russian, Iranian, and Chinese warships was held in the northern Indian Ocean.
Kommersant: Russia preparing anti-crisis measures in coal mining
An export shift to southern and western markets can be a key measure in support of the Russian coal industry, which is facing a prolonged crisis, with up to 100 billion rubles ($1.2 bln) in proposed subsidies, Kommersant has learned. Additionally, Russian coal miners can be granted a waiver on insurance payments and taxes and qualify for loan subsidies, too.
Given how things currently stand, in 2025, coal production could fall by 39 million metric tons to 399.6 million metric tons, with exports declining by 29.4 million metric tons to 166.5 million metric tons, sources told Kommersant. Meanwhile, the basic scenario forecasts the amounts of 438.3 million metric tons and 199.4 million metric tons, respectively.
Anton Sviridenko, executive director of the Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics, noted that eastern export routes are overloaded, and Russian coal miners have to offer discounts and push for lower tariffs to be competitive in the Asian market dominated by Australia, Indonesia, China, and India. And there are potential buyers in the western and southern directions.
Oleg Abelev, chief analyst at the Moscow-based investment company Ricom Trust, argues that Balkan countries buy coal from Russia, despite sanctions, while countries in the Middle East and North Africa have no alternative to Russian coal in terms of quality and cost.
However, Natalya Churkina, an analyst at the Institute for Complex Strategic Studies, says increasing coal production and exports at any cost is not something in the interests of the Russian economy. The country needs a transition to a sustainable contraction of the industry through the closure of inefficient mining facilities in tune with a long-term demand forecast globally and the capacities of the Russian transportation system for coal transport, she argues.
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