Currents News Staff
In Ukraine, the impact of the war is painfully clear. In the U.S., the effects are more subtle. Oil is alreayd up over $100 dollars a barrel and experts predict the conflict will keep prices high. Pennsylvania House Member of Ways and Means Committee Brendan Boyle says there will be some cost to Americans.
“Ordinary Americans will be paying a little higher at the pump,” Boyle says, “but frankly, I think that is a sacrifice we need to pay because we’ll pay for more later if we don’t successfully stand up to Putin on this.”
As the stock market opens Monday, investors are bracing after a roller coaster last week. Meanwhile, boycotts of Russian-branded alcohol are underway at some stores and bars.
“Kind of like how you bounce somebody from a bar that just isn’t getting along with everybody else,” said Ryan King, Co-owner of Crumb and Spigot Bar, “so we just decided to dump the Russian vodka for now cause they weren’t playing well with others at the bar.”
Other organizations are finding their own ways to distance themselves from Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country.
“He and his government are being treated like the pariahs that they are by the entire world community,” said Boyle.
But the Ukraine war is affecting more than just U.S. finances and affiliations, it’s igniting anger among protesters here and rekindling Cold War-era fear.
“Top officials in leading NATO countries have allowed themselves to make aggressive comments about our country,” said Putin, “therefore I hereby order the minister of Defense and the chief of the General Staff to place the Russian Army Deterrence Force on combat alert.”