European leaders have been united against Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of the attack on Ukraine. They have helped Kiev in many ways to take Moscow on the battlefield. However, more than eight months after the start of the war, the situation is different now. Winter has begun in Europe. There is an energy crisis, the prices of goods are increasing rapidly.
Meanwhile, some analysts believe that the war in Ukraine could be prolonged. As a result, Europe may face a more difficult situation in the coming days. All in all, the question has arisen, in the face of financial crisis, European countries will stop giving aid to Ukraine? This question has been answered in a report by Qatar-based media Al-Jazeera.
Europe is heavily dependent on Russia's energy resources. Moscow is using this dependence to capture the European countries that stand by Ukraine. Those countries are not sitting either. They want to stop importing natural gas from Russia. Trying to find an alternative source of Russian oil and gas. They have even adopted various strategies to save energy to deal with the crisis this winter.
Germany withdraws from plans to shut down power plants to deal with the crisis. Government offices in Czechoslovakia are replacing old bulbs with energy-saving LED bulbs. In Italy, guidelines have been issued to keep indoor temperatures below 19 degrees Celsius. It is said to cook food on low heat. It has been decided to turn off the electric lights ahead of time in the stores of various famous brands in Europe.
European countries set a target of 80 percent gas storage this November to reduce dependence on Russia. That goal has been met. Many countries have more than 80 percent gas reserves. Still, Putin may have an opportunity to see whether Europe will stand by Ukraine in the harsh winter months ahead.
Last September, the Russian President threatened to put the European Union into an energy crisis. "We will not supply anything that goes against our interests," he said at an energy conference in the Russian city of Vladivostok. Gas, coal, oil—nothing.'
European Union security expert Rafael Los believes that even though Europe has stockpiles, it still needs pipeline gas from Russia. He said to Al-Jazeera, if the gas supply from Russia is interrupted, it will affect the homes and industries of European countries.
Meanwhile, winter in Europe could become even more difficult to deal with next year. Because, the energy coming from North America, the Gulf countries and Norway cannot fully meet the demand as an alternative to Russian energy. Security expert Rafael Los said that in such a situation, Putin hopes that a large number of Ukrainian residents will migrate to neighboring countries to escape the severity of the winter.
In the meantime, Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukraine since the middle of last month. 30 percent of Ukraine's electricity infrastructure has been destroyed by their repeated missile attacks. According to Rafael Los, if Putin can use the ongoing 'fuel war' to start public protests in European countries; If they can intensify the migration crisis and succeed in disseminating false information, this could have the effect of reducing the rate of European aid to Ukraine. But this is what Putin wants.
Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made similar predictions last September. In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, he said, 'Energy prices that are increasing day by day have become a threat to pull the economy out of the bad situation. It has reduced the purchasing power of people. The productivity of our industries has suffered. Because of this, the European countries' promises of assistance to Ukraine may be withdrawn.
European governments are pledging more financial and military aid to Ukraine. At the same time, the pockets of the common people of the countries are becoming empty to meet the cost of living. Inflation in Europe was 10.7 percent on average last Monday. This is a new record. It was 4.1 percent in October last year.
Due to these reasons, discontent is growing among people in European countries. In the past two weeks, protests have spread from France to Romania. The workers are demanding higher wages to keep up with the increased costs. Demonstrators in Germany have also attacked the government over rising commodity prices.
However, many experts believe that the coming days are going to be more terrible. Capuchin May, European analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a consulting firm, said, 'There are signs that inflation will continue to increase. So we think the protests will increase.' According to a report published by Verisk Maplecroft last September, protests are rising in 101 countries around the world due to the rising cost of living.
Niklas Balbon is a researcher at the Global Public Policy Institute, a Berlin-based think tank. In one article, he wrote, if the governments of European countries cannot rein in the inflation caused by the war in Ukraine, then the people of these countries will take a stand against giving more aid to Kiev.
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