1 February 2023 12:01 am Views - 373
CNN reported on January 30 - an elderly woman and three other people had been killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Ukraine.
According to the ‘voanews.com’, around 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died “...and as many as 40,000 Ukrainian civilians had been killed by January 11, 2023.
UNHRC records show refugees from Ukraine across Europe numbered 7,996,573 at January 24 this year.
The “Guardian” of May 3, 2022 reported more than 33.7 million sq. metres of residential buildings have been hit by missiles, bombs and suffered other damage during the war worth almost US$30bn in total. More than 23,000km of road have been ripped up or pockmarked by shelling, and almost 90,000 vehicles, worth billions of dollars combined, have been damaged. ‘ukinform.net’ reported some 140,000 residential buildings have been destroyed.
According to estimates compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), and supported by the Ukrainian government, the total amount of direct infrastructure damage has reached US$92bn since the invasion in February 2022.
The KSE adds the overall economic costs of the war – when damage to infrastructure is taken with the impact on GDP, the cessation of investments and the outflow of workers as millions flee the country – could rise to US$600bn - almost four times the value of annual GDP.
In addition, war damage to Ukraine’s agricultural sector is in the billions and rising. ‘Agripulse’ reported in July 2022, the massive disruption to logistics has resulted in about US$11.9 billion in losses for Ukraine’s agriculture sector, according to the KSE analysis. The losses break down into of roughly US$3 billion for wheat, US$4.1 billion for corn, US$4.2 billion for sunflower seeds and US$ 670 million for barley.
Russia which claims it was forced to invade Ukraine in the face of that country’s (Ukraine) attempt to join the NATO military bloc thus endangering Russia’s security has lost around 100,000 military personnel in the war.
Meanwhile the NATO countries which Ukraine felt obliged to join for its own protection, have decided not to put troops on the ground. Instead, they are pouring arms and armaments into Ukraine with the US heading the list.
The US has announced its largest Ukraine aid package yet, worth US$3.75 billion, which includes Bradleys and other armored vehicles as well as US$907 million in more financing for Ukraine and its neighbours to buy US-made weapons and equipment.
In short, all the arms and armaments pouring into Ukraine will only cause further damage to Ukraine itself. This enormous fire-power will not be used against Russia, but only within Ukraine itself. Ukraine has now become the live testing ground for US and NATO weaponry as well as a source of mega profits to the armaments industry in the US. The US also sanctioned Russian banks and unilaterally sanctioned purchases of oil and gas from Russia.
Though NATO countries are heavily dependent on cheap Russian gas, they have been forced to comply with the US sanctions on purchase of this commodity themselves. Today they are forced to purchase gas from US oil giants at higher rates to meet the deficit.
Meanwhile the US armaments industry and its oil companies are making a killing from the imposition of unilateral sanctions on Russian banks and sale of oil and gas.
However, one of the repercussions of the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US has been countries like India and China have disregarded the US sanctions. They continue importing Russian oil and gas.
They have also commenced trading in each other’s currency, marking perhaps the first step in breaking the power and stranglehold of the US dollar on international trading. The OPEC which includes Saudi Arabia, too stood up to US demands to increase oil production - further weakening US power in world leadership
In the end the war in Ukraine leaves the Ukraine the biggest loser and the US faced with a threat to its global leadership. Even Israel, the state most dependent on US support for its own existence has fallen short of condemning Russia.
In other words, not a single country has gained from the Russo-Ukraine conflict. The big winners are the armament industry and the US oil and gas giants.
Humanity has been the overall loser.