On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, igniting a war in the 21st century that none of us wanted. As of now, in October of 2022, this invasion and massacre against the Ukrainians have been ongoing for nearly eight (8) months.  Even though many countries all over the world have sought to end it, their solutions were of little to no avail. Why has such an endeavor to end the war been to no avail - is it because the UN did not act enough? Is it because the EU has not acted enough? What about Ukraine? Is it because Ukraine has not resisted enough against the war? I would say “No” to all of the above questions.

War is not something that only brings damages to the countries that directly collide with each other; it is something that brings a dilemma and questions people’s moralities and values. Not only Ukraine but also many other countries were affected by the Russian invasion. Countries in Europe have been consistently challenged in many aspects, such as their values. For example, one of the crises European countries currently face would be the natural gas supplies that the countries in Europe need, while such natural gas supplies have been made originating from Russia.

The world, including most European and western countries, has imposed economic sanctions on Russia to which Russia reacted by threatening an indefinite halt to gas supplies. Moreover, Russia claims that it will proceed to completely cut off the natural gas supplies via Europe’s main pipeline, if more countries in Europe support Ukraine, inevitably causing a rise in gas prices.  

By the foregoing reaction and threat, Russia tries to economically push Europe to lift the economic sanctions imposed on its own country. Concerning this, the dilemma European countries currently face is that they would lose the sources of gas supplies if they stand for and support Ukraine, while they would gain access back to the gas supplies if they choose to stand for and support Russia’s invasion. 

The latest move by Russia has significantly increased the risk that many European countries may not get further gas flows for the whole winter. European countries are currently trying to secure gas supplies in underground facilities to have sufficient fuel for the upcoming winter by keeping their moralities and values in supporting Ukraine. The whole world needs to keep an eye on those European countries regarding their endeavor to resolve this dilemmatic situation and support them. 

황동원 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

<저작권자 © 강남포스트, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>