WHAT a year. At the start of 2022, many were hoping for a return to normality as vaccines allowed countries to end covid-19 measures. Instead, Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering or exacerbating many other global crises in addition to the terrible things happening in Ukraine itself.
Russia attempted to blackmail Europe by withholding gas, sending energy prices soaring. It also prevented the export of grain and sunflower oil from Ukraine’s ports, sharply hiking food prices. Along with the supply chain disruptions resulting from the pandemic – and from Brexit in the UK – this led to the cost-of-living crisis that …