The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is said to be the first military arm conflict in Europe, a war that already is having a significant impact across the continent under the guise of rising food hikes, shortage of gas, and economic strangulation in the continent.
While sanctions have been coming in mass from the Western countries on Russia, President Putin has retaliated in the most severe aspects, with readiness on the Russian side to use food, fuel, and fertilisers as a wagon of war against the Western countries.
With no sign of an imminent ending to the crisis, Russia and the Western countries are locked in an unprecedented situation with a spike in prices, one that has been at its apogee for over 2 decades, with its earthling effect on the global chain of supply.
While the crisis continues to linger, President Putin had put his MasterCard in changing the position of the West toward his country, the joker which President Putin is relying on to put a crippling effect on the West is “the battle of winter.”
Russia has been historical in using the winter period to its advantage over centuries, with the great Napoleon facing his worst defeat during his European expansion at the hand of Russia during the winter which left most of his army devastated and dead, Hitler could not also break the yoke of the winter which led to his defeat at the World War 2, now President Putin is also relying on the power of the winter to bring the West to its knee.
With the armed conflict between the West and Russia unrealistic, Putin is set to use the power of the winter against the West most especially the European countries who rely mostly on Russian energy and gas.
The winter is the coldest period of the year in Europe, and the inability to have access to Russian gas would be devastating and a threat to the life of most many European countries as an alternative to Russian gas is still far from reality, with Britain set to stop the supply of gas to other countries to prepare fully well for the winter period, most countries in Europe would be forced to look for a quick solution to their sanctions on Russia.
Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the EU sanctions on Russia risk destroying the bloc’s economy, and that the Energy deal must be left out of the sanctions issue, or otherwise, all will pay the price of the war which nobody wants that. To Orban, the EU sanctions on Russia “is a threat to the Europe economy.”
According to experts, as the war drags on, the European government will come under pressure from different angles from different people with different conditions which will encompass mostly the poor, the hungry people, and those battling with the cold.
