Was the US using Ukraine for a bigger goal than to draw Russia into a proxy war? Did the US use the Ukraine war to destabilise and weaken the EU? Shouldn’t EU leaders and Europeans wake up to this unpalatable reality?
While many Europeans are asking why America does not fight its own wars and why European leaders are choosing to fight America’s war at the expense of their own, no one appears to be providing the answers.
US did the same to Europe during the war on terror and the Arab Spring. How many non-Europeans and even terrorists flooded to Europe and given safe haven in European countries where they have created sleeper cells?
The present predicament finds Europeans facing difficult economic times and a cold winter all resulting in financially destabilising Europe and reducing their clout globally.
Five million refugees
How many Ukrainians have been given refugee status in US? Five million Ukraine refugees are, being sheltered in countries across Europe. Initially it was welcome, now signs of strain are showing on account of social assistance allocations footed by Europeans for a war they did not want.
Experts say the cost is €40bn for Europe. The Ukraine war came just after Europe was preparing to recover from the pandemic. Picking up investments came to a virtual halt. If the pandemic affected jobs and employment, the Ukraine war has worsened the situation and winter without gas and energy is likely to make matters worse. The spoils of war spilling on Europe is far more than the impact to America or Americans.
Economic output has reduced and prices have increased. Life is not so rosy for Europeans.
Ukraine refugees can only return if Ukraine is back on its feet and that weight has also fallen on Europe – who will foot the bills for infrastructure destroyed in Ukraine for a war Europeans did not ask for? The post-war scenario looks far worse than waging war. Russia too will have to face many ills as will Americans who anyway suffer as a result of all of America’s illegal proxy wars since independence. So who is actually benefitting from these wars?
Ukraine, Europe and even Russia have to weather far more than they have taken stock off in walking into a war without thinking of the repercussions.
Industrial and agricultural production output is impacted, exports, cargo handling are affected, unemployment is surging, automotive industry is suffering from supply disruptions, energy crisis will mean a severe winter as a result of sanctions on Russia. Europe sanctioned Russia on request of US but will US keep Europe warm in the winter?
Sanctions by EU against Russia for invading Ukraine on February 21, 2022 is a continuance on some sanctions placed after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
EU sanctions against Russia include individual, economic and diplomatic. These include 108 entities and 1214 individuals which includes the Russian President, Russian foreign Minister, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, members of the Russian Parliament, Russian businessmen and Oligarchs who have travel bans and asset freezes in EU banks.
EU has sanctioned Belarus for its siding with Russia.
While the EU aimed at punishing Russia – the sanctions have invariably impacted EU mostly.
Sanctioning Russia has impacted Russia’s trade with EU. Bans on import and exports to Russia means the ban invariably impacts the EU. EU can no longer sell products to Russia and Russia cannot export to EU or import from EU. These items include health, pharma, food and agriculture. The EU cannot import crude oil, refined petroleum products, coal, gold, steel, iron, wood, seafood or liquor from Russia.
Sanctioning 90 percent of Russia’s oil imports to Europe means adverse impact to the EU as well.
The EU has also refused access to EU airports for Russian carriers and banned them flying over EU airspace – this impacts EU travelers as well. If three-quarters of Russia’s commercial air fleet are produced in EU, US and Canada, their profits will get affected. How has the closure of EU ports to Russia’s entire merchant fleet of over 2800 vessels cost the EU? As of February 2022 Russia’s international reserves of US$643b had more than half frozen.
Did Europe take stock of how vulnerable it was making itself by piggy-backing US’s war against Russia?
Europe is already feeling the pinch from sanctions, trade disruptions, inflation and impact on its energy security. Had Europe’s advisors looked at this scenario?
Germany and Italy are heavily dependent on Russian gas, automotive industry and rising energy prices.
Russia’s main trading partner
The EU is Russia’s main trading partner. Russia is the largest export market for Latvia and 2nd largest for Lithuania. Russia wood makes up half of all Finish wood imports which are 20 percent of industry production and 15 percent of industry employment. Europe is also dependent on Russia and Belarus for fertiliser. EU relies heavily on Russian palladium (precious metal in engine exhausts to reduce emissions). Shortages have affected the German and Italian automotive industry.
EU’s sanctions against Russia have impacted its energy imports – rising gas, oil and coal prices. In 2020 the EU imported about 23 percent of oil, 40 percent natural gas and 45 percent coal from Russia.
Latvia and the Czech Republic receive all gas imports from Russia. Latvia and Hungry get their entire natural gas from Russia. Russia’s state controlled Gazprom supplies 1/3 of all gas to Europe primarily because of transport cost saving.
Following the Ukraine invasion by Russia, the EU drew plans to cut gas imports – Russia’s response was to demand ‘unfriendly’ countries pay in rubles for purchase of gas.
When buyers from Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Finland and Netherlands refused, Russia cut off gas. Russia also cut supplies via the biggest pipeline which impacted buyers in Germany, Italy, Austria and France. 40 percent of Italy’s demand was supplied by Russia.
The US will do to India exactly what it has done to Europe. It is good for Delhi to wake up to this ground reality. If the US can destabilise it’s ‘friends’ in Europe using a proxy-Ukraine-Russia war, what is India to US?
The US has not only financially weakened Europe reducing its clout. The US has benefited by the Ukraine-Russia war. US natural gas exports to Europe has increased. Euro has weakened but the US dollar has strengthened. US military-industrial industry is booming from war sales and arms purchases.
With EU-Russia trade strained the EU is now made dependent on US.
EU has fallen for US trap lock, stock and barrel.