OUR Russian invasion in Ukraine February 24 resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the displacement of millions more, as well as economic consequences around the world.

Here are the main consequences of the war, which has been going on for the ninth month:

Lethal outcomes

War-induced deaths still reach levels that have been recorded in Europe since World War II.

From 24 February to 2 October, there are reports that 6,114 civilians were killed and 9,132 injured, although the actual numbers are much higher, as reported on 3 October by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Ukraine did not say how many of its soldiers were killed. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on September 21 that 5,937 Russian soldiers had died since the start of the war.

Ukraine and Russia say the other side has suffered catastrophic losses. Reuters was unable to correlate the claims of both sides.

The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated that there were more than 100,000 soldiers killed or wounded in Russia and Ukraine on November 9. “Very human pain,” Gen. Mark Miley told the Economic Club of New York. Miley said the conflict has displaced between 15 million and 30 million Ukrainians and possibly 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have died.

human pain

A third of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes since February 24, according to the United Nations refugee agency, in what is currently the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 41 million people live in Ukraine.

According to the agency, more than 7.8 million refugees from Ukraine are currently registered in Europe, with the largest number in Poland, Russia and Germany.

Ukraine

In addition to the loss of life, Ukraine has lost control of about 22 percent of its territory since annexing Crimea in 2014, according to Reuters estimates.

It has lost part of its coastline, the economy is on its knees, and some cities have been destroyed by Russian bombing. According to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Ukrainian economy will shrink by 45% in 2022.

The actual value of the dollar for Ukraine is unclear. It is not clear how much Ukraine spent on military operations.

The price is high for Russia.

The war also cost Russia dearly, although Moscow does not disclose this.

In addition to military spending, the West tried to punish Moscow by imposing sanctions, the biggest shock to the Russian economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Russia’s central bank last month raised its GDP forecast for this year to a 3-3.5% contraction from the previous 4-6% contraction. At the end of April, he expected GDP to contract by 8-10%.

The Russian Ministry of Economy predicts a contraction of 2.9% this year and a decline of 0.8% in 2023.

But the impact on the Russian economy is serious — and not entirely clear yet. He has been cut off from Western financial markets, most of his oligarchs have been sanctioned, and he has trouble supplying certain products such as chips.

Prices

The Western invasion and sanctions against Russia have led to a significant increase in the prices of fertilizers, wheat, metals and energy, fueling a food crisis and an inflationary wave that has swept the world economy.

Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, wheat, nitrogen fertilizers and palladium. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, world oil prices reached their highest level since 2008.

Efforts to limit reliance on Russian oil, gas and petroleum products, or even impose a price ceiling on them, have exacerbated what is already the worst energy crisis since the oil embargo of the 1970s.

Western weapons

Since February 24, the United States has provided more than $18.2 billion in aid to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft systems, Javelin anti-tank systems, howitzers, as well as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defenses.

The total military, economic and humanitarian aid that the countries of the world have pledged to provide Ukraine by October 3 is about 52 billion euros, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Russia claims that modern weapons supplies from the West to Ukraine end up on the black market and then end up in the hands of extremist and criminal groups in the Middle East, Central Africa and Asia.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}