To understand the pervasive and deeply damaging impact of the war in Ukraine, it is only necessary to glance at headlines here in Britain, far away from the shelling. Tomato rationing at your local Tesco, for example. The reasons for the shortage are many and complex, but one that’s agreed on is that supplies from growers in Britain and the Netherlands are lower than usual because farmers can’t afford to run energy-intensive greenhouses; in turn, that’s because of sanctions imposed by the West on Russian oil exports, and a deliberate policy by the Kremlin of restricting energy supplies to Europe.
Much the same goes for the loss of 300 jobs at the steelworks in Scunthorpe, with possibly many thousands to follow. Steel takes a lot of energy to make, and the Chinese firm that owns British Steel says that parts of the plant are no longer economical to run because of the high cost of energy. Or take the food bank in Flintshire that has reported a doubling of demand over the past year caused by the cost of living crisis and high inflation. The war in Ukraine is again to blame – at least in part.
