A war-torn world: How Russia-Ukraine conflict dictated geopolitics globally

With the invasion turning into a misadventure for Putin in the face of a spirited Nato-backed Ukrainian defence, the world can only hope the 2 nations reach at least a brokered ceasefire deal in 2023

The Russia-Ukraine conflict impacted every human in one way or another. China, too, turned on the heat in its bid to upend the global order.

 

Everyone pays a heavy price: The toll is already immense for Ukraine and the world. Beyond the suffering and humanitarian crises, the country has lost nearly 18 per cent of its territory to Russia. On February 24,  Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aiming for the “demilitarisation” and “denazification” of Ukraine, after several rounds of failed talks with the West. India not only managed to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine, but also those of its neighbours. Besides the surge in energy and metal costs, food prices, especially of wheat and cooking oil, skyrocketed. Even the International Space Station was impacted as Russia announced it would leave the mission after 2024. With the invasion turning into a misadventure for Putin in the face of a spirited Nato-backed Ukrainian defence, the world can only hope the two nations reach at least a brokered ceasefire deal in 2023. Amid American and EU sanctions, multinational firms have pulled out of Russia, even as Europe continues to buy oil, gas, and coal from it. India, too, has resisted Western pressure to boycott  buying discounted oil from Russia and has skipped numerous UN votes against it.

Game of musical chairs: Rishi Sunak led the Tory rebellion against then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a number of MPs held his feet to the fire over Partygate. Sunak, however, lost to Liz Truss in the race for PM. Truss held the post just for 45 days as she trudged from one crisis to another. Sunak, who is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy, finally got his chance and became the first Indian-origin UK prime minister. But just six weeks into the job, Conservatives have begun a campaign against him over high taxes.                

Red emperor: Xi Jinping further tightened his grip on power with the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party once again electing him general secretary. Set for an unprecedented third term as Chinese President from March 2023, Xi  turned aggressive on reunification with Taiwan, with Chinese bombers indulging in many airspace violations. His insistence on zero-Covid policy brought the Chinese economy to a near-standstill and sparked a rare widespread anti-government protest, forcing a rollback. The China-US ties worsened further with few signs of amends in the new year.                                         

Fed up: In June, consumer prices soared 9.1 per cent YoY in the US, the biggest yearly increase since 1981. In the fight against inflation, the Jerome Powell-led Federal Reserve, through the year, was forced to raise its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in 15 years, even though a recession loomed over the US. The situation was similar for the UK, Japan, and the EU. Emerging markets, too, followed suit and the trend is likely to continue in 2023.

Neighbours in dire straits: Facing its worst economic downturn since Independence, Sri Lankan citizens battled power outages, fuel rationing, a dearth of life-saving drugs, and crippling food inflation.  As the country went bankrupt, public protests turned violent which culminated in demonstrators storming then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence and forcing him to resign and leave the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s battle with economic crisis continued but it managed to keep bankruptcy at bay, only narrowly. Bangladesh and the IMF reached a preliminary deal under which the global lender would provide a $4.5-billion package. With depleted forex reserves, rising imports, and balance of payments imbalances, Nepal also faced threats of a full-blown economic crisis.

Stellar showing: James Webb Space Telescope observed the atmospheres of distant planets, galaxy light bent by unseen dark matter, and clouds of gas and dust in stellar nurseries. It unveiled galaxies formed when the universe was only 350 million years old, just 2 per cent of its current age.  Also, in the first such test of planetary defence against near-Earth objects, Nasa’s DART spacecraft hit its target asteroid, Dimorphos, which the investigation team claimed successfully altered the space rock’s orbit. 

Political swing: Though Imran Khan lost Pakistan prime ministership to Shehbaz Sharif, the former cricketer remained popular on the electoral front as his party managed to win a number of polls. Khan also survived a “clear assassination attempt”  when he was shot in the shin during an anti-government protest. He often alleged a US-backed conspiracy against his government and targeted then Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who finally retired and handed over the charge of the 600,000-strong nuclear-armed force to General Asim Munir.                                  

End of an era:  Reigning for 70 years and 214 days, the longest-serving British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away on September 8 at the age of 96. Her son Charles III — the longest-serving heir apparent — took over as king of the UK and 14 other Commonwealth realms. At 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne. 

Global shocker:  In a rare act of gun violence in Japan, former PM Shinzo Abe, 67, was shot dead on July 8 when he was making a campaign speech in Nara. He was shot twice from a handmade gun by a 41-year-old man, who claimed he killed Abe because the politician “backed” the Unification church, which he blamed for his family’s bankruptcy.

Women versus clergy: The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for allegedly violating Iran’s hijab law triggered an unrest. Women expressed  anger by chopping their hair off and refusing to wear the headscarf. At least 458 people are said to have been killed, so far,  in the unrest.

Left, right and centre: With the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil’s presidential election, almost the entire Latin America — from Mexico to Chile — is in the hands of the political Left. On the other hand, Europe witnessed the rise of the Right wing: Three Swedish Right wing parties agreed to form a government — under Ulf Kristersson — with the Far Right Sweden Democrats’ support. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni, once an activist in a neo-fascist party’s youth wing, became the country’s first woman PM. French President Emmanuel Macron overcame the challenge from the Far Right under Marine Le Pen to win a second term in office.