25/02/2022
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, early this morning declared the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Minutes later, large explosions were visible near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Blasts were reported in Kyiv, the capital, and other parts of the country. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said that Russian troops had landed in Odessa and were crossing the border. (The New York Times – 24/02)
The intervention ordered by the Russian President Vladimir Putin this week increased the oil prices past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. Also, as of Thursday, the national average gas price in the U.S. is $3.54 a gallon, up from $2.65 just a year ago. And experts project gas prices could top $4. This could be a big problem for the EU. *
In addition, Ukraine is the world’s fifth-largest wheat exporter, agricultural analyst Alex Smith wrote last month in the journal Foreign Policy, and many of the countries that rely on its wheat “already face food insecurity from ongoing political instability or outright violence.” Yemen, for instance, imports 22% of its wheat consumption from Ukraine, Libya about 43%, Lebanon roughly half. (Associated Press)
*The EU is the largest importer of natural gas in the world, according to the Directorate-General for Energy for the EU, with the largest share of its gas coming from Russia (41%). (CNBC)
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For more information:
nytimes.com/live/2022/02/24/world/russia-ukraine-putin?campaign_id=51&emc=edit_mbe_20220224&instance_id=54131&nl=morning-briefing%3A-europe-edition®i_id=178388336&segment_id=83789&te=1&user_id=059c1307655ccdaecfc5df460f77b66d
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/why-europe-depends-on-russia-for-natural-gas.html #:~:text=The%20EU%20is%20the%20largest,North%20Sea%20reserves%20dried%20up.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-russia-europe-prices-b046c6e743a1d86657d8b7206da0c2f8
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just what a vulnerable world economy didn’t need — a conflict that accelerates inflation, rattles markets and portends trouble for everyone from European consumers to indebted Chinese developers and families in Africa that face soaring food prices .