G7 summit 2022
© John MacDougall/Pool Photo via APClockwise from left, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.S. President Joe Biden attend a working session during of the G7 leaders summit at Castle Elmau in Kruen, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. The Group of Seven leading economic powers are meeting in Germany for their annual gathering Sunday through Tuesday.
Leaders of the world's wealthiest democracies struck a united stance Tuesday to support Ukraine for "as long as necessary" as Russia's invasion grinds on, and said they would explore far-reaching steps to cap Kremlin income from oil sales that are financing the war.


Comment: Since the bodies that are being 'ground' are Ukrainian citizens (with a smattering of Western intelligence, as well as foreign fighters and terrorists), apparently the West's leaders and its citizens are less concerned as to how long their failing war will drag on.


The final statement from the Group of Seven summit in Germany left out key details on how the fossil fuel price caps would work in practice, setting up more discussion in the weeks ahead to "explore" measures to bar import of Russian oil above a certain level. That would hit a key Russian source of income and, in theory, relieve the energy price spikes afflicting the global economy as a result of the war.


Comment: So they're still buying Russian fuel, and in some cases in record amounts.


Leaders also agreed on a ban on imports of Russian gold and to step up aid to countries hit with food shortages by the blockage on Ukraine grain shipments through the Black Sea.


Comment: Is the ban on gold of any consequence to Russia? Or is it yet another 'move' that's merely for show? Because Russia and China have been stockpiling precious metals for years now.


The Group of Seven on Tuesday was wrapping up a summit intended to send a strong signal of long-term commitment to Ukraine's future, ensuring that Russia pays a higher price for its invasion while also attempting to alleviate a global hunger crisis and show unity against climate change.


Comment: In just the last few days, the West's 'green goals' are threatening to shut down farms in The Netherlands, meanwhile over in Africa, a continent most threatened by the looming global famine, they're being told to not buy Russia's fertilizer, because 'sanctions', nor to build their own fertilizer production plants.


Before the summit's close, leaders joined in condemning what they called the "abominable" Russian attack on a shopping mall in the town of Kremechuk, calling it a "war crime" and vowing that President Vladimir Putin and others involved "will be held to account."


Comment: As has been noted by independent reporters, the last time Russia targeted a mall it was being used by the Ukrainian army as a military outpost, and images from the scene show that the area was swarming with people dressed in military attire:



Also, as reported by RT, there's no explanation of why there were so few cars at such an apparently 'busy' mall:
The Russian military has not commented on the incident so far. Multiple social media users have pointed out, however, that a factory for production and repair of heavy machinery - Kredmash - was located right on the other side of the shopping center. Also nearby was a railway junction, often a target of Russian missile strikes.

Previous local reporting also indicated that Kredmash had been involved in repairing and refurbishing military armored vehicles.

The leaders of the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, the U.K., Canada and Japan on Monday pledged to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes" after conferring by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The summit host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he "once again very emphatically set out the situation as Ukraine currently sees it." Zelenskyy's address, amid a grinding Russian advance in Ukraine's east, came hours before Ukrainian officials reported a deadly Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk.

From the secluded Schloss Elmau hotel in the Bavarian Alps, the G-7 leaders will continue straight to Madrid for a summit of NATO leaders — where fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine will again dominate the agenda. All G-7 members other than Japan are NATO members, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been invited to Madrid.

Zelenskyy has openly worried that the West has become fatigued by the cost of a war that is contributing to soaring energy costs and price hikes on essential goods around the globe. The G-7 has sought to assuage those concerns.

While the group's annual gathering has been dominated by Ukraine and by the war's knock-on effects, such as the challenge to food supplies in parts of the world caused by the interruption of Ukrainian grain exports, Scholz has been keen to show that the G-7 also can move ahead on pre-war priorities.

The summit host has been keen to secure agreement on the creation of a "climate club" for countries that want to speed ahead when it comes to tackling global warming.

After a meeting Monday with leaders of five developing nations, a joint statement issued by Germany emphasized the need to accelerate a "clean and just energy transition" that would see an end to the burning of fossil fuels without causing a sharp rise in unemployment.

In the cautiously phrased statement, the leaders tentatively endorsed the global "climate club" idea.