Just when the world, had heaved a sigh of relief from the devastating effect of Corona Virus, nicknamed Covid-19, the crisis in Ukraine reared its ugly head.
For those who are not familiar with the Ukrainian crisis, the crux of the matter is Ukraine’s plan to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Should that happen, NATO, will most likely station strategic weapons in Ukraine. Russia believes, rightly, that such a move is not in its strategic national security interest and would not allow it
Already, Russia is mobilising troops and other logistics along its borders with Ukraine, as well as in Belarus in readiness for the invasion.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has always entertained the idea of installing a government in Ukraine that is friendly to Moscow. But the rest of the world, especially America thinks differently.
The back and forth and the threat of attack or invasion by Russia, has affected the price of Oil in Europe.
According to a BBC report , oil and gas prices are climbing on fears that the Ukraine-Russia crisis will disrupt supplies across the world.
The price of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, reached a seven-year high of $99.38 (£73) a barrel on Tuesday.
The world saw prices of oil soar during the peak of the Covid pandemic, because oil producing countries were forced to cut back on production.
The world economies are yet to recover from that shock and now we have to turn our attention to what is happening in Ukraine.
The sad part of this unfolding reality is the devastating effect this standoff, is having on smaller economies like Ghana. Prices of petroleum product, have been on the increase since the beginning of the year and it is not looking like it will come down anytime soon, because of the hardline positions taken by Russia, USA and Europe, that are not helping efforts to de-escalate the tension.
As a newspaper,, we call for restraint and a softening of positions. The world powers must necessarily come to some agreement before someone presses the destruct button.
