Photo by Alina Ta
A handful of guest speakers with expertise on the war in Ukraine came together to discuss how the war has affected the rest of the world from non-partisan perspectives on Wednesday at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
“We thought it was a good time to reflect on the implications of the conflict for the rest of the world,” said Karthika Sasikumar, SJSU political science professor and one of the speakers at the panel.
Russian forces started a full-scale invasion into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, according to a Friday New York Times article.
About 300,000 people have been either killed or wounded in the war, according to the same New York Times article.
At the panel discussion, each of the five speakers shared how the war is affecting not only Ukrainian and Russian citizens, but how it is affecting global politics.
Drones and Weapons
Roberto Gonzalez, chairman of SJSU’s anthropology department, said the war in Ukraine is not only on ground, but in the air as well.
“There’s also another side to the conflict, a hypermodern battleground, where drones play a central role in surveillance, reconnaissance and combat missions,” Gonzalez said.
He said both Ukraine and Russia have been unleashing modern weapons to fight the war, including using suicide or “kamikaze” drones.
Gonzalez described how both countries are using Ukraine as “a real kind of testing ground for all of these various technologies.”
He said drones will not only impact the war in Ukraine, but future battles as well.
Gonzalez said many countries around the world are investing time and money to develop more technologically-advanced drones.
He said the use of drones in warfare is much more common and accessible.
“One lesson is that drones have become democratized, accessible to anyone with a few hundred dollars,” Gonzalez said.
He said, although drones can be cheap, many countries, including Russia, China and the U.S. are stockpiling weapons in the new global arms race. Gonzalez said they are spending millions of dollars to develop technologically advanced drones.
This includes drones that can fly at lower altitudes, travel farther and be controlled by A.I.
Gonzalez said drones are now being used more in armed conflicts around the world.
Economics
The war in Ukraine has not only affected how wars are being fought, but also economies in multiple countries.
Matt Holian, chair of SJSU Economics Department, said Russia’s financial strength when importing oil and gas is allowing it to hold some influence over other countries.
He said 60% to 70% of Russian exports is based on selling energy sources, such as natural gas or oil.
Holian said Russia cut off natural gas exports to countries in the European Union as an instrument of political influence during the war.
He said the EU had to find alternate energy sources after the Nord Stream pipelines were blown up.
The Nord Stream Pipelines are two pipelines that run underneath the Baltic Sea. These two pipelines move natural gas from Russia to other countries in the EU, according to a Sept. 28, 2022 article by Vox.
Holian also said Russia’s influence in natural gas and oil supply gives it the financial strength to work around sanctions placed by other countries, including the U.S.
He said Russia is able to continue funding the war because there are a few countries around the world that are still paying for natural gas and oil from Russia.
“[Sanctions are] somewhat effective, but obviously you’re not going to stop the war,” Holian said.
He also said the war in Ukraine is affecting the cost of food and that one of Ukraine’s main exports is grain.
“There’s probably nobody on the planet or a few people at least that are totally untouched by this,” Holian said.
Holian said food prices are rising as the war continues, leading to an increase in global food insecurity.
“There are millions of acres that haven’t been able to be harvested or planted in Ukraine,” he said. “So that is contributing to higher food prices.”
Asia’s Influence
Russia’s strength in the natural gas and oil industry affects both the EU and Asia.
Karthika Sasikumar said India and China continue to indirectly support Russia’s finances.
Sasikumar said because of the drop in natural oil prices, India started purchasing more oil from Russia, making it India’s third largest source of foreign oil.
Russia has also been India’s number one supplier in firearms, according to a Feb.12 Reuters article.
“[There’s] a very long relationship that starts from the Cold War onwards,” Sasikumar said.
She said the Chinese government just announced that it would start selling weapons to Russia.
Gonzalez said China is now the world’s biggest drone exporter.
“The US certainly doesn’t want Russia to benefit from buying cheap Chinese drones,”Sasikumar said.
Why it all Matters
Sasikumar said it’s important for students to stay knowledgeable on what is happening in Ukraine.
“As a citizen of the world and as someone in a very privileged position [or] as someone who has access to all kinds of information, it’s important for students to [stay] informed,” she said.
History lecturer Raymand Buyco said it’s important for students to stay informed on the war.
“Students need to know about the war in Ukraine because a hot war breaking out between the United States and Russia, or the United States and China, would affect pretty much every citizen that lives on the globe,” Buyco said.
He said although he believes students should stay informed for these reasons, he understands that college students are busy.
“We should be lifting their heads sometimes and looking at the world, you know, together,” Buyco said.
He said this is why he encourages students to pay attention to what is happening around them, regardless of whether or not they are majoring in the social sciences.
Buyco also said SJSU has many international students and that the events happening around the world may be affecting them personally.
History senior Trong Khoi Tran, who is a Vietnamese immigrant, said he is interested in the relationship between Russia and Ukraine because China and Vietnam share a similar relationship.
“I think we are all affected by this war,” he said. “Directly or indirectly, I think it’s important that we need to know what’s going on.”