John Chalmers, Sabine Siebold

BRUSSELS: (Reuters). During an unusual trio of NATO, G7, EU summits, Western nations will tell Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday that his country will have to bear “ruinous costs” for invading Ukraine.

NATO Headquarters in Brussels will host the summit to preserve Western unity. Here, leaders of transatlantic defense alliance will meet to discuss increasing military force on Europe’s eastern flank.

Alarmed by Russia’s possible escalated war against its neighbor after a grueling month-long conflict ended in a bloody end, NATO’s 30 member nations agreed to send Kyiv equipment for defense against nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks.

An emergency meeting of G7 developed economies will highlight the resolve to punish Moscow by massive sanctions.

An international summit of the 27 members of the European Union will be held to bring together countries that represent more than half of world’s gross national product.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, stated to the EU Parliament that “we must ensure that we understand that the decision of invading a sovereign country is understood as a strategic failure which carries with it ruinous cost for Putin and Russia.”

According to United Nations data and including the more than 3.6million who fled, Russia’s attack on Ukraine killed thousands of people.

Putin claims that his forces have been engaged in “special military operations” to “denazify and demilitarize” Ukraine. According to the West, Putin has launched an unprovoked aggression war against Ukraine.

When he reached the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declared that “President Putin made a mistake.” He pointed to Ukraine’s strength and the unity in the West.

Stoltenberg stated that in this “most severe security crisis of a generation”, “as long we stand together, we’re safe.”

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president will speak at both NATO summits and EU summits via videoconference.

He tried to get NATO to establish a no fly zone over Ukraine. But, the West allies have placed severe sanctions on Russia and given weapons and assistance worth billions of US dollars to Ukraine’s defense.

EASTERN FLANK

NATO has significantly increased its presence along its eastern borders with approximately 40,000 troops deployed from the Baltic Sea to Black Sea. Stoltenberg of NATO stated that leaders will discuss the possibility of deploying four additional combat units to Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

“I believe leaders will reach an agreement to increase NATO’s presence in all areas, including the eastern region. “On land, at sea and in the air,” he stated.

Washington claimed that Biden and European counterparts would announce sanctions new against Russia, and tightening of existing sanctions. EU diplomats lowered expectations that major new sanctions would be announced.

Russia’s international commerce has been blocked to an extent that was unprecedented for such a vast economy. The biggest loophole in Russia’s international commerce is the exception that it allows for energy exports. Because they heavily rely on Russian oil and natural gas, some EU members are refusing to call for a ban.

At their summit of two days, EU leaders expect to reach an agreement to purchase gas jointly. This is in the interest of reducing dependence on Russian fuels as well as building a buffer to supply shocks. [L3N2VQ3IG]

Brussels wants to make a deal for additional U.S. Liquid Supplies in the coming winters with Biden.

Ursula von der Leyen the President of the EU Executive, stated that “the consequences of this conflict on Europe’s Security Architecture will be wide-reaching.” And I don’t just mean security from a military perspective. Not only are energy and food security at risk, but also energy security.