La Otan He said this Sunday that the war in Ukraine could last “years” and asked to continue giving weapons to kyiv to sustain the fight with Russia despite the growing rise in the world price of energy and food after almost four months of fighting.
In GermanyMeanwhile, the Government announced this Sunday that, after Russia reduced its gas shipments due to the war, it will have to use more coal, which will make it difficult for it to meet its climate commitments.
The war in Ukraine has triggered the international prices of raw materials, especially cereals, and fuels, causing a wave of world inflation and fears of a recession in the United States with a strong impact on the global economy.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned that it had to halve the rations of 75% of African refugees East and West it assists, in the absence of adequate funding and despite growing needs.
The supply of weapons to Ukraine
The United States and European Union (EU) countries that arm Ukraine for billions of dollars are increasingly suffering the economic consequences of the conflict, after applying harsh sanctions to Russian finances and diplomacy.
From Ukraine they said they received more than 1,400 Stinger and 6,500 Javelin anti-aircraft systems, Mi-17 helicopters, Harpoon systems and unmanned aircraft from the United States, which last week announced its highest year-on-year inflation in 40 years.
Russia has recently said that the West has caused a global economic crisis with the sanctions it has imposed on it, which prevent it from selling cereals – of which it is the world’s leading producer – and fertilizers, which are in short supply.
The President’s Government Vladimir Putin also says that continued arms deliveries to Ukraine will not change the course of a conflict that, he assures, he will win, and that they will only prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people and the economic agony of the West.
UK Prime Minister -another major arms supplier to Ukraine-, Boris Johnson, He said last Saturday that he was worried “a little bit of Ukraine fatigue is starting to set in around the world” and called for continued support for kyiv.
The British Ministry of Defense sounded the alarm even more this Sunday by saying that the brutal fighting in eastern Ukraine, in the Donbass region, is demoralizing Ukrainian troops and “probably” causing desertions.
Russia invaded Ukraine in late February after the United States rejected its demand to curb the eastward expansion of NATO, the Washington-led transatlantic military alliance that Moscow sees as a threat.
In an interview published this Sunday by the German newspaper Bild, NATO Secretary General Jens StoltenbergHe said he did not know how long the war could last.
“We have to be prepared for this to last for years”he declared.
“We must not waver in our support for Ukraine, even if the costs are high, not only in terms of military support, but also in rising energy and food prices,” he continued.
“We would have to pay an even higher price” if Putin were to achieve his goals in Ukraine, he added.
Pope Francis also called not to forget Ukraine and his right to defend himself, although in his case he has lamented the arms supplies.
“And let’s not forget the martyred people of Ukraine at this time,” Francis told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square, the ANSA news agency reported.
‘What did I do for the Ukrainian people today?’ he asked them to ask themselves.
About power supply
In recent days Gazprom, Russia’s state gas company, cut supplies to Germany and Italy, two of its biggest buyers from Europe.
The Italian government plans to discuss this week the impact of the measure.
Italy’s state-owned energy company ENI said on Saturday that thanks to gas bought from other suppliers, Italy should be able to make it through next winter, which starts in December, but warned that “restrictions” on gas use may be necessary.
In Germany, The German economy minister announced this Sunday that the country will limit the use of gas for electricity production and that it will be accumulated to face the cold winter months, while resorting to the use of more coal to compensate.
The announcement represents a 180-degree turn for the government of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a coalition that includes an environmental party and had promised to abandon the use of coal before 2030 as a way to contain global warming.
“To reduce gas consumption, less gas has to be used to produce electricity. Instead, more coal-fired power plants will have to be used,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck, an environmentalist, said in a statement.
“It is bitter, but it is essential to reduce gas consumption,” stressed Habeck, adding: “The security of supply is guaranteed” but “the situation is serious.”
The conflict in Donbass continues
In Ukraine, the center of gravity of the fighting is in the Donbass, in whose two provinces, Lugansk and Donetsk, Russia has made advances in recent weeks as part of an offensive to conquer the entire region.
This Sunday, the Ukrainian Army claimed that it managed to stop Russian attacks near the city of Severodonetskin Lugansk, the scene of intense fighting for weeks and largely controlled by Russia.
“Our units managed to stop the assault in the Toshkivka region,” the Ukrainian Army stated on Facebook. “The enemy withdrew,” he added.
A Severodonetsk chemical plant sheltering more than 500 civilians, including 38 children, was hit by shelling again in recent hours, Luhansk Governor Sergii Gaidai said.
From Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense affirmed that “the offensive against Severodonetsk is carried out successfully” and that the Russian forces liberated a town on its outskirts.
President Volodimir Zelenski, meanwhile, affirmed that Ukraine “will not give the south of the country to anyone”, after a visit to that part of the Ukrainian territory, which is partially occupied by Russian forces.
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