Daily Times

Hunger and severe economic recession are looming large across the map. Not realising it intentionally or unintentionally, the US keeps on fuelling the Russia-Ukraine crisis with increasing military aid to Ukraine. With signing a law last week, President Joe Biden can go to any extent to aid Ukraine with heavy military equipment and weapons. It is not for free. Ukraine has to pay back, if it could not, then it has to accept the economic slavery of the US, NATO and EU like many other countries. I have already mentioned an opinion piece last week.

Two bad news. First one: The US has dispatched another heavy shipment of military aid to Ukraine a couple of days back. Fully determined to nail Ukraine’s economy and stability with the support of NATO and the EU in a bid to “weakened” Russia.

Just three weeks back, US Defense Secretary Lloyd J Austin III declared at the end of a stealth visit to Ukraine that America’s goal is to see Russia so “weakened” that it would no longer have the power to invade a neighbouring state. The Washington Post reported that “he was acknowledging a transformation of the conflict, from a battle over control of Ukraine to one that pits Washington more directly against Moscow.”

Austin said that President Biden entered the war insistent that he did not want to make this a contest between the United States and Russia. Rather, he was simply helping a small, struggling democracy defend itself against a takeover by a far more powerful neighbour. “Direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III, something we must strive to prevent,” he said in early March, just two weeks into the war. And, now the US has gone to “unlimited military aid to Ukraine.” Simply, not a good sign. Rather trailing the world to a larger war, military and economic.

Russia-Ukraine crisis has become an opportunity for the Latin American countries to export their lower quality food grain, edibles and oils to the market.

Second bad news, the worst one: Just in 84 days, the signs of economic recession are briskly up with visible impact. Four decades back, the US launched the same intentions in Afghanistan. It resulted in a severe economic recession and food shortages across the globe. The same heinous crime is being committed again.

Both Ukraine and Russia are some of the world’s largest food exporters. The crisis between them has started impacting global food security. The least developed and developing countries like Pakistan, one of the importers of edibles and cereal crops from Ukraine, are in severe economic cracks. The downtrodden communities are suffering the most, but who cares.

Ukraine and Russia both play a major role in global food markets. They are net exporters of several of the leading cereal crops: wheat, maize, and barley. Both are also dominant exporters of sunflower oil, one of the world’s dominant vegetable oils. Some countries such as Pakistan and India rely heavily on imports of sunflower oil for domestic food supplies. Around one-quarter of global wheat exports come from Ukraine and Russia. One-fifth of global maize, and barley too. They are the source of nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of traded sunflower oil, with Ukraine alone accounting for almost half of global exports.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has become an opportunity for the Latin American countries to export their lower quality food grain, edibles and oils to the market with the support of the US investors. Clear evidence that a conspiracy hatched by the lords of the world against the two major food-exporting countries by indulging them in an armed crisis. The US military aid to Ukraine would not only enslave the Ukrainians but the food crisis would further enslave the poor and developing nations. Sanctions on Russia would add to the miseries of the global south.

So sad to share that among the comity of nations, only five countries stood with Russia in voting in the UN General Assembly on the Ukraine Crisis. As many as 135 countries were firmly against Russia but apparently could not deter the diligence of President Putin and his warriors. Perhaps, it is essential to snub and curtail the economic and military might of Russia to keep the world unipolar. It was strange to see China abstaining from voting in the UN despite having very cordial and mutually beneficial bilateral relations.

China believed that the crisis would not be prolonged. But, it did not because of the US military support to Ukraine. Believing in the non-military interventions, and watching the puppets play for more than two months. The geopolitical analysts believe that China has finally stepped in very intelligently. More than 40 cities in China have gone to complete and strict lockdown for the “Zero Covid-19 policy.” It has disrupted the supply chain to Europe that is expected to heavily dent the entire European market with a souring shortfall of consumer products, and higher inflation. It would double the crisis for EU countries while they are preparing to collect 15 billion euros for Ukraine’s financial support.

About 23 per cent of the European companies producing consumer and corporate products in China have decided to move out of China. This would further reduce the purchasing power of the common European. This may also give more trading opportunities to China after a brief gap of no supplies. It happens in power games. Tit for tat.

An increase in NATO membership even at the cost of war is more important than the lives of the people. Now, sheer responsibility is on the world’s political economy experts, intellectuals and social activists to raise public awareness of the capitalist and anarchic designs of the US and NATO. They all shall come up together to shout out against the merciless capitalist designs of a few billionaires against the billions of lives.

The writer is a freelance journalist and broadcaster, and Director Devcom-Pakistan. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com and tweets @EmmayeSyed