How the Russian-Ukraine War Affects Everyone

written by 10113 Lee Na Rim

On the 22nd of February, Russia invaded Ukraine.

The rest of Europe and North America were alarmed. None of the countries could give any military aid to Ukraine because they perceived that if they did so, it would lead to World War III. So they decided to pass sanctions against Russia to oppress its economy.

Not only did the sanctions affect Ukraine and Russia directly, but the Russian-Ukraine war itself led to many changes worldwide regarding the economy. Unlike the purpose of the sanctions, they have conversely harmed other countries.

Economist Marcel Fratzscher of the German Institute for Economic Research talked about how the Russian-Ukraine war has affected the German economy in an interview. Fratzscher remarked that perhaps only 1.5% would remain of the 4.5% economic growth he had anticipated for Germany at the start of 2022.

Since Russia cut gas supplies to Germany in response to Western sanctions, Germany is also experiencing an energy crisis.

Meanwhile, Americans experienced the fastest price upsurge in 40 years since gas prices rose quickly, and this phenomenon contributed to the price rise of almost every commodity worldwide.

Inflation is happening all over the world. It has increased the overall cost of living. Even worse, despite the immense price rise, the wages are the same as before or even less. It is not a surprise that numerous families are going through financial hardship in buying necessities.

Russia, on the other hand, seemed to suffer from the sanctions that were directed against them at first but eventually learned their way through self-sufficiency, learning how to supply on their own. Now they have a more independent economy than ever.

More importantly, the crucial problem was the food crisis the sanctions had caused, which made famine worse in developing countries and, of course, in Ukraine. The prime reason why they started to fall short on food was that they relied heavily on Ukraine for wheat.

Ukraine accounts for a large proportion of the supply of wheat as well as other primary food ingredients. Ukraine supplies up to 16% of the world’s corn exports and more than 40% of the world’s sunflower oil. Developing countries couldn’t provide themselves with enough food since all food distribution channels and due to attacks, Ukraine's agricultural infrastructures have been destroyed and shut down by the war.

The cost of food the World Food Programme provides for its aid programs has jumped 46% compared with 2019 on account of sharp increases in prices for food and finances that go into purchasing nutritional pastes needed to cure malnourished children. Even worse, there was a rise in prices for transportation.

Many believe that the Russian-Ukraine War does not have a colossal impact on us.

Unexpectedly, it also influenced us here at SAWL. Because of the global price rise in food and inflation, raw, fresh food is hard to obtain. Sawlians can even see this in our school meals. The proportion of processed and frozen foods such as hamburger steak or cutlet is increasing.

Hence, as a cosmopolitan, we ought to pay more attention to what’s happening to our world. Even if it seems far from us here at SAWL, remember that it is going to affect us somehow.