On Saturday, Kaliningrad governor Anton Alikhanov reported that Lithuanian Railways, a state-owned enterprise, had stopped the rail-based transit of sanctioned goods between Russia and its Baltic Sea exclave, citing "EU restrictions". The measure has cut the region off from up to half of all its rail-based imports.

💬 "This decision is truly unprecedented. It is a violation of everything. We understand it to be connected to the relevant decision made by the European Union - to extend sanctions to transit. We also consider it illegal," Peskov said, speaking to reporters on Monday. "We need a serious, in-depth analysis to work out our response decisions," Peskov said

Vilnius began enforcing a ban on the transit of goods subject to EU sanctions between mainland Russia and Kaliningrad on Saturday. Governor Alikhanov said construction materials, metal products, coal, cement, high tech products and other goods would be affected. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has indicated that the rail transit restrictions were introduced "after consultations with the European Commission and under its leadership."

Biden Admin. escalating Ukraine to Nuclear War with Russia - VIDEO (06/19/22)
Russia Demands Lithuania Lift "Openly Hostile" Blockade; Panic Buying Ensues (ZeroHedge)
Lithuania Bans Transit Of Sanctioned Russian Goods To Kaliningrad (ABN)
Panic Buying in Kaliningrad as Lithuania "Sanctions" Russian Railroad (Hal Turner)
Lithuania’s ban on transit of some goods to Kaliningrad region illegal - governor (TASS)

NATO Wants World War | Vox Popoli | That’s the only possible conclusion, which makes it obvious that the neocons – who have been banging the drums for war with Russia for years – are in full control of US, EU, and UK foreign policy. It appears the neocons are finally going to get the world war for which they have been agitating. However, I very much doubt it is going to go the way they planned for it to go, since they thought China was going to be on their side rather than the most powerful force against them.

Tom Luongo | Russia is done with the West. The divorce is nearly complete. In the past few days we’ve heard from all major Russian leaders the same thing, “The West will play by our rules now.” You can decide for yourselves whether Russia is writing checks they can’t cash, but in the words of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov telling the BBC bluntly, “We do not care about the eyes of the West.” Lavrov has always been the soul of politeness and discretion when dealing with European media. [...] Russia knows it has the West on the ropes. We need what they produce and now they are determined to set the rules on who gets them and for what price. It knows that European leaders are puppets with Klaus Schwab’s hand up their asses. And it knows Davos has zero leverage over Russia’s actions from here on out.

Britain wants to ‘bring Russia to its knees’ – Lavrov (RT.com)

Helen Buyniski | The actor-turned-politician has become the perfect useful idiot for Washington’s foreign policy priorities. If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky isn’t getting paid to foment war between the West and China, he should be. The ubiquitous media darling declared on Saturday that the “international community” must help Taiwan resist Chinese “aggression” now, before Beijing attacks the poor little heavily-armed island. Coming from the leader of any other eastern European kleptocracy, such a suggestion might have been shrugged off as the egotistical bloviation of a spoiled child. But Zelensky has the ears of the "free world," and what he says is lapped up by the narrative managers of the Western media as gospel. All this in a week when his regime banned another pair of opposition parties, bringing the total to nine. A fact the US/UK press certainly hasn't reported loudly.

Interview on Franc Analysis: “Ukraine’s Kill List and What Western Media Ignores About Donetsk Civilians.” With thanks to the wonderful Franco of Franc Analysis for having me on his show yesterday to discuss what corporate-owned media will never discuss: Ukraine’s terrorism of the Donbass, relentlessly bombing cities throughout, targeting civilian infrastructure, killing & maiming civilians, and the kill list Ukraine puts 1000s of dissenting voices on. MORE HERE

Ukrainian attacks kill 12 civilians, injure 93 over the week (Donetsk News Agency)
Ukrainian forces fire 250-plus rounds on DPR in 24 hours, one killed, 10 injured (Donetsk News Agency)

Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally, or RN) made historic gains in Sunday’s French parliamentary election second round, on track to win 90 seats according to projections by Ipsos – a score way beyond the record gains polls predicted. Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc, meanwhile, underperformed polling expectations and fell well short of a majority – leaving a deal with conservative Les Républicains (LR) as his best hope for governing unencumbered. Nobody expected Le Pen’s party to win anything like 90 seats.

After a presidential campaign all about the distracting focus on the Ukraine war, Macron’s desire to drift to re-election and Le Pen’s submarine-like rise, it looked like the parliamentary election campaign was all about Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The radical leftist firebrand defied expectations and united France’s flagging, divided left behind his banner. Amid an otherwise lacklustre campaign, he created and rode momentum to put his NUPES (New Popular Union) alliance neck-and-neck with Macron’s centrist bloc in the first round. NUPES have indeed performed well – set to win 141 seats according to Ipsos projections, just months after the French left looked unpopular to the point of near irrelevance. However, it is far from radical leftist hopes of winning a National Assembly majority and forcing Macron into a state of “cohabitation” with Mélenchon as his prime minister.

Takeaways from the second round of France’s parliamentary elections (France24)
A big slap for the Macronie (The French Daily News)
France has the worst electoral system in the world (Peter Franklin)
Macron loses majority after punishment at polls plunging France into chaos (GB News)
Législatives françaises 2022 (RFI)