MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. Ukraine is expanding attacks on foreign-linked assets while seeking greater Western military support; the EU is considering new ways to impose sanctions on Russia as unanimous approval among member states becomes increasingly difficult to achieve; and growing tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia are raising concerns about disruptions to Red Sea shipping and broader risks to global trade. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

Strikes on Kazakhstan’s facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea are part of Ukraine’s effort to turn the conflict into a global one, deputy speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev told Izvestia. According to experts, by provoking new countries into reacting, Kiev hopes to secure additional military aid packages. The United Kingdom has already provided the Ukrainian armed forces with Stone Cloak electronic warfare technology. London also intends to further expand its military assistance, members of the UK Parliament told Izvestia.

"This is an attempt to internationalize the conflict with Russia as much as possible and present it to Ukraine’s allies as a global conflict that threatens their own interests," Kosachev emphasized.

He also expressed hope that Iran and Kazakhstan would find an appropriate way to respond while not allowing themselves to be manipulated by Kiev.

Ukraine’s attacks on assets belonging to Russia’s partners are linked to its efforts to broaden the conflict in order to obtain another round of Western assistance, professor at St. Petersburg State University Natalya Eryomina told the newspaper. In particular, the strike on the Iranian vessel came amid tensions between Tehran and Washington, allowing Ukraine to demonstrate its capabilities to the United States. Meanwhile, attacks targeting the economic ties between Russia and Kazakhstan are intended to undermine Moscow’s relations with its neighbors by creating the impression that Russia is incapable of protecting the economic interests of its partners.

Amid all this, Vladimir Zelensky traveled to the United Kingdom to seek increased military support from the country’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham. The British prime minister announced the transfer to Kiev of the rights to the Stone Cloak electronic warfare system, which makes drones more difficult to detect by air defense systems. This will enable Ukraine to manufacture British electronic warfare systems in larger quantities, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine in the House of Commons Alex Sobel told Izvestia.

"The United Kingdom always listens to the requests of our Ukrainian colleagues. This visit is no exception, and we are increasing technology transfers, energy support, and military assistance," he said.

Following his visit to the United Kingdom, Zelensky is expected to travel to the United States. He is likely to raise the issue of obtaining Patriot air defense systems and Tomahawk missiles during his meeting with the US president. Donald Trump’s position remains ambivalent. Although he previously approved granting Kiev a license to manufacture Patriot systems, the Republican president does not want to relinquish his role as a mediator.

The European Union’s 21st package of anti-Russian sanctions, adopted on July 23, could wind up being the bloc’s last major sanctions package, as Brussels is being forced to rethink its sanctions policy. The Financial Times (FT) reported on July 27 that EU leaders are considering a "new approach" following Greece’s recent refusal to approve sanctions targeting Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from the Yamal LNG project, citing the interests of Greek shipping company Dynagas. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti believe the EU is increasingly constrained by its unanimity requirement and the growing economic costs of sanctions for member states, which makes every new sanctions package narrower and less impactful.

EU officials are now seeking a mechanism that would allow the bloc to continue imposing restrictions on Russia without having to overcome a veto from a single member state. According to the Financial Times, several European capitals remain determined to protect companies that continue doing business with Russia. Major foreign policy decisions within the bloc currently require unanimous approval, meaning that even one member state can block the process.

Everything will depend on the mechanisms the EU ultimately chooses to employ, senior research fellow at the MGIMO Institute for International Studies Egor Sergeyev told Vedomosti. If sanctions continue to be adopted under the bloc’s foreign policy framework, unanimity will remain unavoidable. However, he noted that there are already signs of efforts to shift sanctions from the foreign policy sphere to the economic sphere, which would allow them to be approved through qualified majority voting (two-thirds of member states) or by other mechanisms.

Sergeyev also pointed out that, as the sanctions agenda advances further, the likelihood increases that the vital interests of one or another EU member state will be affected. As a result, even the most recent large sanctions packages have become increasingly targeted.

According to Vladislav Belov, deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Europe, the EU has launched a "sanctions war" against Russia, continually adding new restrictions without regard for the mounting strain on European economies themselves. He argues that Brussels has effectively reached the point where additional sanctions increasingly harm the national economies of EU member states, making future sanctions packages progressively less significant.

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis threatens to result in a complete blockade of the Red Sea. According to US media reports, Iran is pressuring the United States by supporting Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, which has threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the region’s second most important transportation corridor. Such a scenario would disrupt not only oil supplies but also deliveries of humanitarian aid, food, and fertilizers to African countries. Russia is urging the parties to return to negotiations because of the growing risks to the global economy, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko told Izvestia. However, experts believe the conflicts in the Middle East have merely entered a temporary pause before resuming, with all sides using the lull to replenish their weapons stockpiles.

Even if the United States and Iran reach a ceasefire, the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia is unlikely to end, according to Konstantin Blokhin, leading research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Center for Security Studies. Despite US intelligence assessments that Tehran exercises control over the group, Ansar Allah portrays itself as an independent movement, and its long-standing confrontation with Riyadh is unlikely to end alongside US-Iranian rivalry, he said.

In order to prevent further risks to the global economy, Moscow is calling on the parties to seek a settlement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko told Izvestia.

"The escalation we are witnessing across the Middle East in general, and in the Red Sea in particular, poses the risk of causing significant damage to global trade and, consequently, to the global economy. That is why Russia is urging all states involved in one way or another in these developments to act with restraint and recognize that any disputes must be resolved through negotiations," the diplomat emphasized.

The current lull is most likely being used by the parties as an opportunity to replenish ammunition stockpiles ahead of another round of strikes, making it premature to speak of a genuine ceasefire, expert at the Higher School of Economics Georgy Asatryan told Izvestia. In his assessment, the Pentagon has advised Donald Trump to pursue a war of attrition in order to weaken Iran economically and provoke internal divisions among the country’s ruling elites.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington on July 27 for talks with US President Donald Trump. According to the Israeli prime minister, Iran, which he said continues to pose a challenge to the Middle East, will be the central focus of the discussions. In recent days, US officials have managed to restore indirect dialogue with the Islamic Republic regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. However, Israel intends to provide the United States with intelligence that it believes demonstrates the need to resume a full-scale military campaign against Iran, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

Several Israeli media outlets, citing sources, reported that Netanyahu plans to present President Trump with newly obtained intelligence concerning Tehran’s alleged efforts to revive its nuclear program, expand its ballistic missile arsenal, and further develop underground military infrastructure.

Trump himself has continued to suggest that he may resume intensive military operations against Iran, although US forces have refrained from carrying out airstrikes for the past several days. Broadly speaking, however, the military campaign has been paused due to the resumption of indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran.

As for Iran’s security establishment, it has emphasized that it used the ceasefire with the United States, which has been in effect since April, to replenish its stockpiles and prepare for a new round of hostilities.

"We did indeed make use of the ceasefire period. Contrary to widespread claims, the United States did not take advantage of that time <...> We, however, increased our capabilities, accelerated production, improved the accuracy of our missiles, enhanced combat readiness, and strengthened our passive defense system," Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said.

Foreign visitors made 2.99 mln tourist trips to Russia in January-June, down nearly 20% year-on-year and marking the weakest first-half result since 2021, according to data from Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). The decline in inbound tourism has been driven by the military conflict in the Middle East and ongoing disruptions at Russian airports, Kommersant writes.

Sergey Romashkin, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, estimated the decline in inbound tourism at 15% year-on-year, adding that the downturn has become even more pronounced during the summer. Marina Levchenko, chief executive officer of Tari Tour, assessed the drop in inbound tourist traffic at approximately 20% year-on-year.

Russia’s peak inbound tourism season runs from May through September. China accounts for the largest share of visitors to the country. According to data from the Border Service of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Chinese travelers represented 50.8% of all arrivals last year, followed by Saudi Arabia with a 4.6% share. Turkmenistan, Turkey, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates ranked next. Rosstat analysts use a different methodology that also includes arrivals from neighboring countries. Under that approach, the largest numbers of visits came from Kazakhstan, China, and Uzbekistan.

The decline in inbound tourism has persisted despite government efforts to increase visitor numbers, the newspaper writes. Since 2023, foreign tourists have been able to obtain electronic visas to visit Russia. The program is currently available to citizens of 64 countries.

According to Levchenko, this year’s summer season has been significantly weaker than expected. The market experienced an unusually strong uptick at the beginning of the year for what is typically the winter off-season, but the situation changed dramatically in March following the escalation of the military conflict in the Middle East, which led, among other things, to restrictions on flight schedules. Flight cancellations effectively cut off access to Russia not only for travelers from the Middle East but also from Southeast Asia, she told Kommersant.

In May and June, the negative news cycle shifted to developments within Russia. Levchenko said tourists have been concerned by reports of a fuel crisis, which had previously disrupted sightseeing bus schedules. Travelers have also been discouraged by interruptions to airport operations and the high cost of visiting the country. Romashkin identified disruptions to air travel as the primary factor holding back inbound tourism because they make trip planning more difficult. A strong ruble has also contributed to the decline, he added.

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