Heading towards World War III?

The EU has blocked a proposal to impose sanctions on Russian titanium producer VSMPO-AVISMA, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the decision was made after France and other EU members raised concerns over a potential Russian retaliatory ban on titanium exports.

VSMPO-AVISMA is the world’s largest manufacturer of titanium and titanium alloy products, which are widely used in aircraft production, from the airframe and engine parts to landing gear. The Russian metals company is a critical supplier of titanium to EU-based Airbus, the biggest commercial jet maker in the world, and the loss of deliveries from Russia would be a major blow.

Last month, the airplane maker publicly called for the EU to refrain from imposing sanctions on Russian imports of the metal. According to consulting firm AlixPartners, roughly 65% of Airbus’ titanium comes from Russia.

VSMPO-AVISMA is partly owned by Russian space and aviation corporation Rostec (25% plus 1 share), and it supplies products to more than 450 companies in 50 countries, including Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, and Rolls-Royce.

Earlier this year, Rolls-Royce announced that it would temporarily stop purchasing Russian titanium in connection with the conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow. However, media later reported that Rolls-Royce did not terminate the current contract, and deliveries could resume at any time, citing sources within the company. Later, US plane maker Boeing also announced it would suspend purchases of titanium from VSMPO-AVISMA, saying it intends to reorient “to other markets and directions.”

www.rt.com/business/559434-eu-blocks-sanctions-russian-titanium

Ukraine should “confiscate” Russian gas from transit pipelines, Dmitry Razumkov, the former speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament, has argued.

Russia transports some of its gas to Western Europe using a route, created during the Soviet-era, through Ukraine.

Razumkov, who was Rada speaker between 2019 and 2021, said the state of the Ukrainian economy is “close to a catastrophe.”

“As a transit country, we must fulfill obligations to our international partners. But surplus Russian gas should be confiscated in accordance with the law and pumped into our storages,” Razumkov wrote in a column for the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper on Wednesday.

“Because we have a paradoxical situation: every single day we are pumping millions of cubic meters of Russian gas and don’t fill our own storages to a required capacity.”

Razumkov added that the government and state oil and gas company Naftogaz must adopt a strategic plan to “ensure the energy security of Ukraine.”

“A difficult winter awaits us,” Razumkov warned, adding that Ukrainians may have to “get used to having a 16C temperature at home.”

“We have only 11 billion cubic meters of gas today. It’s unclear how much Ukraine will manage to pump [to storages] by fall.”

www.rt.com/russia/559437-ukraine-confiscate-russian-gas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "barbarism" after a missile attack on the port of Odesa.

A landmark deal to resume Ukraine's grain exports - signed hours before the strike - now hangs in the balance.

Kyiv has said preparations are still under way to resume the grain exports despite the apparent breach.

Russia has said it carried out the strike but said they were targeting a Ukrainian naval vessel.

Ukrainian military officials have admitted that a ship was hit but have not said whether it was a military or civilian vessel.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62278010

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s remarks about the ineffectiveness of anti-Russia sanctions are “a classic example of Russian propaganda,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko claimed on Sunday.

Orban said on Saturday that the decision to impose sanctions on Moscow and supply Kiev with heavy weapons had turned the EU and NATO member states into de facto participants in the conflict, while failing to deliver results.

Responding in a Facebook post, Nikolenko said the idea that “sanctions did not shake Russia” represent “a classic example of Russian propaganda.”

The Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed that sanctions are effective, as they have “significantly reduced” the capabilities of the Russian military, while Western arms supplies have helped to save the lives of Ukrainians.

Hungary warns of shift in world orderREAD MORE: Hungary warns of shift in world order
He claimed that if sanctions and weapons were ineffective, the Kremlin would not have used “crazy resources” to stop them. Moscow has been warning the West against supplying Kiev with weapons, saying it will not prevent Russia from achieving its military goals, but will lead to extra casualties. Russian officials have also pointed to the boomerang effect of Western sanctions.

In a speech in the Romanian city of Baile Tusnad on Saturday, Orban said the conflict could put an end to Western supremacy and “create a multipolar world order.” The Hungarian leader argued that the West needs to develop “a new strategy.”

Nikolenko countered that “Europe is in an economic crisis not because of sanctions, but because of Russia's hybrid war.” Moscow, meanwhile, categorically denies accusations of using energy supplies as a political weapon.

The Ukrainian official said Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not stop until he destroys the European order based on democratic values,” meaning that “joint decisive action” is needed.

“Together, we will surely defeat Russia, even despite the head of the Hungarian government’ fears that the Russian army has an ‘asymmetrical advantage,’” Nikolenko said, referring to Orban’s claim that Ukraine cannot win the war due to the disparity of forces.

Nikolenko has lambasted Western politicians in the past. Earlier this month, Nikolenko accused US Congresswoman Victoria Spartz of attempting to bring “Russian propaganda” into American politics.

Spartz called for a mechanism to track military aid provided to Kiev, and expressed doubts over the reliability of President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff. Nikolenko advised Spartz “to stop trying to earn extra political capital on baseless speculation around the topic of war” and “stop undermining the existing mechanisms of providing US military assistance to Ukraine.”

www.rt.com/russia/559546-nikolenko-orban-propaganda-statement

The US has too many problems of its own to hand money and weapons to Ukraine for its conflict with Russia, former US President Donald Trump has said. It’s Europe that should be providing more help to Kiev as it’s far more affected by the situation, he insisted.

Speaking at the Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, Trump recalled how he pushed for NATO members in the EU to increase their defense spending to 2% of their GDP during his presidency. Back then, the US was “taken advantage of by Europe,” and now the same thing is happening again over Ukraine, he said.

“We’ve so far given more than $60 billion to Ukraine. Well, the European countries, who are obviously far more affected than us, have given a tiny fraction of that number,” the ex-president noted.

If he were still in office, he “could’ve gone over there [to Europe] and said: ‘Listen, you’re going to put up the same money or more money than us.’ And they would’ve done it gladly,” Trump claimed.

“But we just give money out. And we have $35 trillion in debt. We have all of these problems,” he said, referring to record inflation in the US, the energy crisis, and other issues.

Trump also doubted whether even the massive levels of US assistance would change the situation on the ground in Ukraine. “Now, it’s much tougher to solve,” he said about the crisis. “Russia has 35 times the fire power. And they’re looking to obliterate the weapons as we send them in. A lot of bad things are happening,” he added.

During his term, the US had “no problem” with Russia, China or North Korea, and “nobody even talked about” Ukraine, the ex-president claimed.

But in just two years under Joe Biden, the US “has gone from the strongest that it has ever been… to perhaps the weakest, especially when you include recognition and respect from all around the world. We’re not respected any longer by anybody,” said Trump.

“Two years ago we were energy independent… Now we are a beggar nation, with Biden down on his knees pleading for energy from all over the globe; going to Venezuela, Saudi Arabia. Going to countries all over the world, asking for help,” he added.

www.rt.com/news/559541-trump-us-eu-ukraine

This week Ukraine has purportedly(Russia Forces Claim) fired USA Made HIMARS Rockets on the Antonov Bridge that To Kherson & Nikolaiv / Odessa Front. In this report I am on the bridge showing you the facts and hearing from the current(Russian placed) governor of the Kherson Region. It should be noted that Ukraine says it was not HMARS but the USA supplied 155 mm Excalibur. Both were given to Ukraine by the USA.
Another note, This bridge connects Kherson and the Nikolaevo-Odessa direction with the overland route to the Crimea.