Heading towards World War III?

Tulsi Gabbard: It’s a disservice to the people dying every day to just completely set aside the reality of the situation which is there must be a negotiated end to this war.

Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO and the EU is a mere formality, Alexey Arestovich, a prominent adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Wednesday. Kiev is already a “de facto” member of the US-led military alliance, which promised to help it “win” the conflict with Russia – and has just joined the Three Seas Initiative as a back-door to the EU, Arestovich said in an interview.

Speaking with YouTuber and activist Mark Feygin on Wednesday, Arestovich admitted he had doubts about whether NATO or the EU were ready to accept Ukraine, but that it didn’t matter. Just becoming a candidate gives Ukraine access to EU development funds, with which Poland had built up its infrastructure, he told Feygin. Moreover, Kiev has just made another cunning move by joining the Trimarium, Arestovich said.

“We became the 13th country of the Trimarium. This is access to money, to transport, to security at sea, to infrastructure. And 12 Trimarium countries are EU members. That is, almost half of the EU countries. This means that our integration with the EU has gone much further than everyone is currently assessing,” Arestovich said.

Ukraine will ‘very likely’ become EU member – BidenREAD MORE: Ukraine will ‘very likely’ become EU member – Biden
This was a reference to Polish President Andrzej Duda’s announcement on Tuesday that the group had created a special “participatory partnership” status for Ukraine. Created by Poland and Croatia in 2016 to span the area between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas, Trimarium has since expanded to Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Slovenia. Its membership does not quite number half that of the EU, which has 27 member states.

Arestovich plowed on, however, telling Feygin that Ukraine is a “de facto member” of NATO. It may not have the mutual defense pledge of Article 5 in writing, but more than 50 countries in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, led by the US, have promised Ukraine’s Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov they would “never, ever” let Kiev lose the war, Arestovich insisted.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “put the cherry on top of the cake,” Arestovich added, by saying there should be “no doubt that we will lead Ukraine to victory.”

NATO engaged in ‘direct aggression’ against Russia, Moscow must defend itself – senatorREAD MORE: NATO engaged in ‘direct aggression’ against Russia, Moscow must defend itself – senator
Zelensky’s chief public relations adviser has been a frequent presence on Ukrainian TV and livestreams, sometimes revealing sensitive information before it could be officially confirmed – such as the loss of the Donbass town of Liman last month – while on other occasions going off on profanity-laced tirades against Henry Kissinger and others in the West who urged Ukraine to make peace with Moscow.

Earlier this week, Arestovich told another interviewer that he regarded LGBTQ individuals as “people with deviations,” prompting the Western-backed NGO KyivPride to demand his resignation from Zelensky.

www.rt.com/russia/557653-ukraine-nato-eu-trimarium-arestovich

Germany is stepping up efforts to respond to a cut in Russian gas supplies by reviving coal plants and providing financing to secure gas for the winter, an effort that would cost about 15 billion euros ($15.8 billion) at current prices.

The package of measures was announced days after Moscow slashed deliveries on its main gas link to Europe, hitting supplies to Germany and creating a knock-on effect for France, Austria and the Czech Republic. Austria responded to reduced flows by reviving a dormant coal power station.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-19/germany-taking-steps-on-serious-gas-situation-habeck-says

Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk have been told to withdraw, according to the top regional official.

The city is the focus of Russia's invasion as Moscow tries to take control of large parts of east Ukraine.

"Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said.

Russian forces have made advances in recent days and have nearly encircled the city, and its twin city Lysychansk.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61920708

The European Council agreed to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova during an EU summit on Thursday. Earlier, Belgium had said that the status would be a major sign of hope to Kiev, but it is, as of now, more of a “symbolic” gesture.

The news on Ukraine becoming a European Union hopeful was broken by Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

“European Council has granted the status of candidate country to Ukraine and Moldova. Historic moment and a signal of hope for the Ukranian (sic) people,” Bettel tweeted.

President of the European Council Charles Michel hailed the decision as a “historic moment”. While Georgia fell short of getting a candidate status, the bloc recognized “the European perspective” of the country, Michel explained, adding that the European Council “is ready to grant candidate status once the outstanding priorities are addressed.”

Earlier in the day, the European Parliament overwhelmingly backed a proposal to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Last week, Kiev’s bid was supported by the EU Commission.

The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, congratulated the three countries on the bloc’s decision. She warned, however, that all of them “have work to do before moving to the next stage of the process.”

www.rt.com/news/557692-european-council-grants-candidate-status-ukraine

Any further sanctions on Moscow would only hurt the EU economy without significantly impacting Russia, a senior aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Reuters on Thursday.

Brussels should stop targeting Moscow with new restrictions and focus on alternative means of achieving peace in Ukraine, such as negotiations, Balazs Orban said.

The official, who is not related to Hungary’s prime minister, was speaking on the sidelines of the EU summit that granted Ukraine candidate status. He argued that the restrictions already imposed on Russia by the bloc had failed to change Moscow’s course on Ukraine or stop its ongoing military operation. Meanwhile, the EU has witnessed fuel and food price hikes.

www.rt.com/news/557728-hungary-eu-sanctions-russia-end