Millions of refugees, the threat of world hunger, the energy crisis-the war in Ukraine, which Putin started and lasted more than three months, had dramatic consequences for the whole world.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, ordered by Vladimir Putin, was the first major military clash in Europe since World War II. Russia’s aggression not only blatantly violated international standards of law and order, but also led to dramatic consequences felt around the world.
Millions of refugees
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, approximately 6.8 million Ukrainians have fled their country, and another 7.7 million have fled within the country. More than three million Ukrainians fled to neighboring countries: Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Hungary.
So far, in addition to Poland, which has received the maximum number of Ukrainian refugees (3.5 million people), most Ukrainians are in Germany (727 thousand) and in the Czech Republic (348 thousand), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Reported Refugees (UNHCR) at the end of May. .
According to this organization, approximately 2 million Ukrainians returned to their homeland, some residents of Ukraine, for various reasons, went home and returned to the country where they found refuge.
In March, EU interior ministers agreed to accept Ukrainian refugees under a simplified bureaucratic procedure. The Council of the European Union, at its meeting in Brussels, voted for the introduction of the Temporary Protection Directive (TDP) for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s aggression.
In countries receiving the largest number of Ukrainian refugees, asylum systems are often overwhelmed, and Ukrainians have to wait a long time to process all necessary documents or receive social assistance.
The threat of global hunger
Ukraine is the largest producer of sunflower oil, leading the world in terms of its exports. Ukrainian deliveries of this product, according to research company Mintec, reached 47 percent of the world market before the war.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a global shortage of sunflower oil and led to rising prices for other vegetable oils. At the end of March, world prices for sunflower oil rose 44 percent compared to last year’s value.
But Ukraine occupies an important place in the world in terms of exports not only sunflower, but also corn (15% of world trade) and wheat (10%). Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea has greatly reduced Ukrainian exports of grain and corn.
This was especially felt by countries in Africa and the Middle East, which are directly dependent on Ukrainian supplies. However, the consequences can be even more dramatic.
Some experts fear that Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports amid severe weather caused by climate change and economic turmoil after the coronavirus increases the threat of the global food crisis several times over.
In May, the UN Security Council warned that global hunger had reached a “new high”, adding that tens of millions of people could face long-term hunger due to the war in Ukraine.
By the end of May, 23 countries had already decided to limit food exports, indicating a decline in the global level of food security.
energy crisis
Russia is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest supplier of crude oil and the third largest exporter of coal. Before the invasion of Ukraine, three-quarters of Russia’s gas and almost half of crude oil went to Europe. By 2020, Russia’s oil, gas and coal will reach a quarter of EU energy consumption.
But on February 24, the EU decided to gradually free itself from dependence on Russia’s energy carriers. “We just can’t rely on a supplier who is clearly threatening us,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in March.
In March, the European Commission announced its intention to completely abandon Russia’s supply of fossil fuels to the EU by 2030 and announced plans to reduce Russia’s gas imports by two-thirds by the end of the year. ito.
One of the points of this plan is to increase fuel reserves in gas storage. Another temporary option is to import liquefied natural gas, for example, from the United States. At the same time, some experts predict a gas shortage and do not exclude the option of energy rationing.
Rising prices and inflation
Food and energy shortages since the start of the war in Ukraine have led to widespread price increases and inflation.
A particularly sharp upward jump was observed in food prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) food price index, which reflects the monthly change in the international prices of a basket of food products, reached a record high in March this year.
Global inflation has more than doubled since March 2021, according to the International Labor Organization. In the euro area, inflation hit 8.1% last month.
At the same time, it is predicted that it will be even closer to low -income countries. If, according to a recent IMF forecast, inflation in industrialized countries could rise to 5.7%, then for developing countries this figure would be 8.7%.
NATO expansion
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed geopolitics. Some experts expect a new division into Eastern and Western geopolitical and economic blocs, with Russia and China on one side and the EU and US on the other.
The war in Ukraine also led to the rebirth of the North Atlantic Alliance. If in 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned about NATO’s “brain death,” then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in his own words, turned out to be an electric shock to wake up the world’s most powerful military bloc. After the start of the war, even the traditionally neutral Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance.
As a result, Vladimir Putin, who considered a threat to his country the expansion to the east of NATO and struggled to prevent Ukraine from joining the bloc, achieved the opposite effect: after Finland joined NATO, the length of the common border of member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance including Russia will double – up to 2600 kilometers.
Source: Russian Service DW
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.