Reader’s Opinion | The war in Ukraine is based on money

President Vladimir Putin’s motives for the war have been discussed from many angles. Still, it feels like the most obvious reason has been overshadowed.

My teacher in high school started one of our history lessons by writing the word “money” on the board. A questioning silence descended on the classroom. After a while, our teacher pointed to the word he had written and said that there you see the root cause of all wars.

President Vladimir Putin’s motives for the war have been discussed from many angles. Still, it feels like the most obvious reason has been overshadowed.

Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there was a global microchip shortage, which began in 2020 with the economic war between the United States and China. The shortage got even worse during the corona period. Microchips are needed everywhere – from cars to smartphones. The microchip shortage has led to the closure of car factories and is also the reason why the new Playstation 5 is hard to come by at the moment.

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Ukraine is responsible for more than 70 percent of the world’s neon gas production. Neon gas is used in lasers, which are needed to make microchips. Ukraine’s largest neon gas factories are located in Mariupol and Oddessa, the former of which Russia has recently conquered.

The value of the global microchip market was estimated to be more than 500 billion euros in 2021. If Russia dominates the neon market, it will also be able to dominate microchip manufacturers and benefit from it financially.

Janne Huopio

Master’s student at Aalto University, Espoo

The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which have been selected and edited by the HS editorial team. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of the pieces at www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.

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