Sometimes, it’s not what matters most.
By the evening of February 25 this year, a day after the Russian tanks entered Ukraine In the largest military offensive in Europe since World War II, Moscow troops reached the outskirts of Kyiv.
With long-range artillery shelling across the capital, Ukraine’s defense ministry urged residents to make petrol bombs to repel the attackers. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy filmed himself with his comrades on the city streets, vowing to defend his country’s freedom.
“Tonight, they will attack,” Zielinski said. “We must all understand what awaits us. We must endure this night.”
The attack never happened – and 10 months later, Moscow’s “special military operation” fizzled. In some places, it is in retreat. Many in Moscow expected the Russian army to succeed, overthrow Zelensky’s government and install a pro-Russian government.
To be sure, Russian forces occupy large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, and the grinding conflict has left at least 40,000 civilians dead and 14 million displaced. But Ukrainian forces, bolstered by billions of dollars in Western arms, have regularly proven themselves safer and more effective than the demoralized Russians.
It was a similar story in the US, where Republicans and some pundits predicted a red tide in the midterm elections. The Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives, but the victory there was slim with a majority of less than 10 seats. The party not only failed to take back the Senate but also lost several gubernatorial races. Democrats won all three secretary of state contests in presidential battleground states where their Republican rivals denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
Mid-term elections usually give a loud rebuke to the incumbent president’s party. This time it was a soft tsk around.
In economics, most of the world’s major central banks waited until March to start raising interest rates. The European Central Bank did not move until July. Monetary hawks complained that the delay led to inflation. Will it prove costly in the long run? Can the Fed save the US economy from recession?
The answers will become clearer in 2023. There are early signs that inflation may be picking up in some economies, but growth is also softening. In a few countries – looking at you, the UK – the outlook remains grim.
At UN climate talks in Egypt, countries agreed to create a fund to help poorer nations vulnerable to climate disasters, but failed to agree on plans to sharply reduce emissions. Meanwhile, record heat wave in China Floods in Pakistan And glacier collapse in Europe, and in India, Italy and Chile was a reminder of how rapidly our planet’s climate is changing.
It was also the year when protests erupted in Iran after the death of a 22-year-old. Mehsa Amini, who was arrested for wearing an “inappropriate” head covering. Eyewitnesses said he was beaten, although Iranian officials deny this. These protests, led mostly by women, spread across the country and across social classes. The longer they continue, the greater the threat to the 43-year-old Islamic revolution.
What else happened in 2022? The value of the US dollar rose, crypto rose, and Elon Musk Bought Twitter (which he shook so much it threatened to break). It was the year Latin America tilted left, Ethiopia’s civil war finally reached a ceasefire and North Korea launched missile after missile. And it was the year Britain lost a Queen, gained a King and saw three Prime Ministers in Downing Street.
Ultimately, much of the world emerged from COVID, at least socially if not epidemiologically. There was a big exception. China, whose zero-COVID policy has sparked protests and unrest in the past few weeks. In October, the country’s two-term Communist Party Congress saw President Xi Jinping consolidate his grip on power and win a third term, breaking with recent party tradition that has seen Presidents only serve two terms. Can Zero Stop the Covid Stagnation?