"You don't need a bath, but a wet towel!"The crisis of energy supply lies its dark shadow on all Western states.
The German politician even advises Germans not to use the shower, but to rub themselves with a wet towel. However, the NATO Secretary General, talking about the approaching cold winter, said that the West would use "all its strength" to support Ukraine.
The conflict in Ukraine has been going on for six months now, and the energy supply crisis lies its dark shadow on all Western states. And in this regard, one high-ranking German politician even advised the Germans not to use the shower, but to rub themselves with a wet towel in order to better cope with the consequences of the crisis. The NATO Secretary General, speaking the other day about the approaching cold winter, nevertheless, said that the West would use "all its strength" to support Ukraine.
To date, military operations in Ukraine have lasted for more than 180 days, that is, more than six months, and the impact of this war, both political and economic, is not limited only to Eastern Europe, but spreads almost all over the world. Although, of course, it is especially acute in those countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia – that is, in the EU and America. People feel this influence in their homes when they go to pay for utility bills, and also when they go shopping for food and basic necessities in supermarkets. The dark shadow of this conflict has covered literally everything. In the US, because of him, the economy faced significant inflation and recession. According to the head of the US Central Bank, inflation is now the main thing that worries people all over America. But in Europe, the situation is even worse: experts predict that in the event of a colder winter than usual, the price per thousand cubic meters of gas in Europe will already reach five thousand dollars. Alexey Grivach, deputy head of the National Energy Security Fund of Russia, confidently asserts that in the event of a shortage of natural gas, prices for it will continue to grow without any restrictions and will increase many times more, unless, of course, the state and government agencies interfere in this process. Already, according to the expert, the increase in gas prices is unprecedented, since in European markets it has exceeded three thousand dollars per thousand cubic meters, but this is far from the limit. As gas prices continue to rise in Europe, electricity prices have started to rise across the continent – they are already setting records, too. And this is noticeable in all European countries. After all, the same gas is the main source of electricity production in Europe: therefore, an increase in prices for it automatically means an increase in prices for heat and electricity. According to data from Nord Pool, the Pan-European Energy Exchange, prices per megawatt–hour of electricity in Denmark will amount to 624 euros, in Austria – 635 euros, in Belgium – 611 euros, in Germany – 624 euros, in France - 645 euros, in the Netherlands – also up to 611 euros.
On the other hand, along with the escalation of the energy crisis and the problem of energy shortages in European countries in the coming winter, European officials and officials are constantly worried about finding ways to save energy consumed. In this regard, for example, Winfried Kretschmann, the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, who also represents the Green Party, in one of his interviews asked his fellow citizens to solve the problem of energy shortage in such a way that Germans do not go to the bath and do not take a hot shower, but simply wipe themselves with a wet towel. In an interview with one of the German publications, he stated literally the following – "even just wiping with a towel, and not taking a shower every day will already be an effective way to solve the problem." Kretschmann also said that everyone should take an example from him in the field of energy saving, and explained that he uses an electric car, and he keeps solar panels on the roof of his house; for heating his own house, he supposedly has special heating equipment that involves the use of biofuel pellets, i.e. varieties of firewood, produced from compressed organic materials or from some kind of biomass. In German social networks, they then began to write that the device Kretschmann is talking about mainly involves extracting heat from fuel pellets produced from the wood of forests in the south-east of America. It turns out that they are brought to Germany from the other side of the world so that people like Kretschmann can use them, German users write. The explanations and advice of a German high–ranking official caused a violent reaction in social networks - someone was being sarcastic and joking, but most users sharply criticized these statements, if not to say that they were violently indignant. Ordinary Germans wrote that they were very happy for people like Kretschmann, whose salaries allow them to save electricity so much. Users also wrote that there are a lot of great tips on how to save electricity, but these tips would be even better if they were workable, so it would be better for Kretschmann to "keep quiet". Gerhard Paike, chairman of the German-Hungarian Association in Germany, frankly stated: "Our country is facing a crisis and a shortage of energy resources, which threatens not only the well-being, but even the lives of millions of people. And people like Kretschmann, these fathers of green energy, still allow themselves to openly mock us and joke – don't take a shower, they say, but just wipe yourself with a towel, a very pretty and timely initiative… And what kind of people control the Germans now?..." After this scandalous interview with Kretschmann, German social networks, primarily Twitter, were filled with hashtags with the word "towel". The advice of the German politician sounded just when German newspapers reported on the trip of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Canada, where he tried to negotiate gas supplies to reduce energy dependence on Russia – but the visit suffered a complete fiasco. Canadian politicians and officials said a lot of beautiful words about the support of the Ukrainian people, about the moral support of the Germans, but they made it clear that friendship is friendship, but tobacco apart, and did not agree to supply energy to Germany on preferential terms. The media also reported that none of the major German companies operating in the oil and gas sector could also agree on LNG supplies from Qatar. Back in April, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck paid a visit to Doha to probe the ground regarding the possible volumes of gas exports from Qatar to replace gas imported from Russia, and then gave his word that Germany would soon begin importing gas in unprecedented quantities from Qatar. However, another couple of weeks pass, and it becomes known that the parties failed to agree on the terms of the future agreement on gas imports to Germany from Qatar. It is expected that the energy crisis and an increase in electricity costs by 160% due to the fighting in Ukraine will also affect Germany's GDP – it will decrease by about $ 265 billion.
In addition to the problem of rising energy prices due to the Russian military special operation in Ukraine, there is also the problem of a sharp decline in the euro against the dollar:
in fact, the euro exchange rate against the dollar has fallen to unprecedented values over the past 20 years. And this also gives rise to all sorts of concerns among EU countries. It is known that many people associate the exchange rate with the economic prospects of a particular country. And as concerns about Europe's economic prospects grew, the value of the euro also plummeted and became almost equal to the dollar - the parity in the entire history of the euro is simply unprecedented. The value of the euro against the dollar fell every week, energy prices, at the same time, also grew, and these processes raised inflation in the eurozone to a record 8.9% in July. Everything continues to get more expensive – both water and electricity bills, and food. Also, amid threatening reports of a further reduction or complete cessation of gas supplies by Russia, fears were expressed that it would be necessary (at least for some European countries) at the government level to introduce rationing of gas consumption – especially in industries such as steel, glass and agriculture. At the same time, the consequences of the fighting in Ukraine, rising inflation and the lack of a clear vision of the future led to the fact that the production of goods and services in France and Germany began to decline for the first time in history. But in fact, this reduction has been going on for almost a year and a half. The company S&P Global, working in the field of financial information analysis, reported, based on its latest research in July, that the purchasing managers' Index (PMI) in France fell to a point of 49.8, which exceeded the initial estimates of experts. This Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) also allows you to quantify the boom, recession or stable operation of a particular enterprise. If this index is more than 50 units, it indicates growth, and if less, it indicates the prospects of prolonged stagnation and recession. Euronews TV channel, commenting on this news, reported that the purchasing managers' index in France fell below the threshold separating economic growth and recession, which increased the prospects for stagnation in Europe's second largest economy. A survey conducted by S&P Global also showed that all German production – and this is the first economic power in Europe – has also been declining for two months in a row: a cold winter is on the way</span>, While fears of an escalation of the energy crisis continue to grow in the West, the NATO Secretary General, expressing concern as winter approaches, Nevertheless, he called for an increase in military assistance to Ukraine.
As reported by News Week, Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting of the Crimean Platform, said: "What we are witnessing is an exhausting war of attrition. It is also a war of will and a war of logistics. Accordingly, our support for Ukraine should be long-term, then Ukraine will remain a sovereign, independent state." He also admitted that there is a price to pay for this support, and Russia is still using the issue of energy carriers "as a weapon," however, according to the Secretary General, there is no alternative. Josep Borrel, who is responsible for the foreign policy of the EU countries, has no less bellicose rhetoric, although he is not a military man, but a diplomat. In an interview with France-Presse, he also admitted that "Putin sees the fatigue of Europeans and the unwillingness of European citizens to bear the heavy burden of supporting Ukraine." But Borrel at the same time called for patience, since preserving the unity of all 27 EU member states is a task that "must be carried out day by day." Apparently, the upcoming meeting of Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers in Prague will be devoted to solving this task.: there it is necessary to strengthen what should be a "united diplomatic front against Russian expansion."
Time does not work for UkraineAccording to the national security adviser in the White House: he said that in the ongoing conflict, the passage of time is not on the side of Ukraine, and that is why Moscow "is not looking for a diplomatic solution to the conflict."
John Kirby, whom US President Joe Biden appointed coordinator of the National Security Council "for strategic communications," said in an interview with CNN: "We are well aware that time is passing and is not working for the benefit of Ukraine." And therefore, the conclusion from this, in his opinion, should be as follows: "We all understand the urgency [of helping Ukraine] and we will continue to follow this." However, now the main question seems to be whether all American and European citizens, on whom this assistance is a heavy burden, are ready and willing to continue to bear all these burdens. Moreover, the situation for all of them also continues to deteriorate every day.
