What Are The Outcomes Of The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
On the 24th of February 2022, Russia has launched an attack on Ukraine and has threatened the lives of 44 million people. Russian troops have already attacked airports along with military headquarters and are currently bombing major cities. Many diplomatic meetings have been conducted to stop this invasion and restore peace. Yet the war continues and many issues continue to occur. This leads us to an important question: What are the outcomes of this war and how will it affect the world?
As the war continues, the lives of thousands of people are at risk. At the moment, more than 210 civilians have been killed, including several children. Russia has destroyed more than 70 military targets and has bombed big airports. If the war continues, the number of people losing their lives will increase and more destruction will be inevitable. Civilians have started to leave the country, considering the possibility of the further invasion of Ukraine. This leads to a massive inflow of refugees of Ukrainians into other European Union (E.U.) countries bordering Ukraine. According to the New York Times, The International Rescue Committee said that Poland and other E.U. countries bordering Ukraine would be quickly affected by the arrival of Ukrainian refugees. More than 660.000 people have left Ukraine, most of them traveling to Poland or Moldova, resulting in chaos in these countries. U.S. troops, who arrived in Poland, are preparing to help Ukrainian refugees. The United Nations has called on member states to raise 190 million dollars to help Ukrainians. Nevertheless, only nine percent of that amount was raised. If the war continues, the amount of financial need will increase.
This war will also affect not only Russia’s economy, but also the world economy. Due to the sanctions the U.S. has implemented, the Ruble has lost its value and Russia’s stock market has plunged by 40%. Nearly 40 percent of natural gas and 25 percent of oil is provided to Europe by Russia. With major spikes in heating and gas bills, people residing in Europe will have to face the consequences. Some of the sanctions the U.S. is planning are preventing big companies from selling any American-made items and cutting off access to SWIFT, which is the system of international payments. Even though the main goal is to weaken the Russian economy and prevent further invasion in Ukraine, implementing these sanctions might cause a lot of damage in the European Union, which is Russia’s biggest commerce partner. While Ukraine cannot continue its economic activities properly, worries about food shortages and price increases in the Middle East have become a recent topic since Ukraine provides them with more than 40 percent of the region’s wheat and corn.
In conclusion, the invasion of Ukraine, if not stopped, will have major consequences in people’s health and security. The global economy, which has been severely damaged by the pandemic, will be greatly affected by this incident, due to the sanctions applied by the US and the war circumstances.
Work Cited:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/business/economy/ukraine-russia-economy.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/world/europe/ukraine-europe-refugees.html
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/14/soviet-union-finland-00008519
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60504334
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/us/politics/ukraine-military-poland-refugees.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK-yJD_fAtk
