Congressman Quigley addresses Russia-Ukraine crisis at Feb. 23 meeting of Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association, explaining why we should care 

by BRIAN NADIG

The Russia-Ukraine crisis will have a significant impact on the global energy market, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D- IL) said at the Feb. 23 meeting of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association about an hour before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Western Europe receives about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, and any invasion will impact the “global market,” including prices that U.S. consumers pay, Quigley warned.
“This is just not a Ukraine problem,” Quigley said. “I think it’s extremely important for us to understand this.”

Quigley said that he suspects China will try to help Russia circumvent the impact of sanctions. “Beijing is watching (our resolve)… with an eye toward Taiwan,” he said of a possible future Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal is to bring back the former Soviet Union, Quigley said

Quigley added that he doubts Russia will be invading other nearby countries. “I can’t believe he has an appetite beyond Ukraine.”

However, Quigley said, under the “new” Cold War, cyber attacks can have significant consequences for a country or industry, noting that U.S. intelligence services firmly believe Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election in 2016.

Putin’s grip on the Russian media is strong, Quigley responded to a question about what Russian citizens know or feel about the crisis. Putin has his main political opponent in jail and has a history of murdering journalists, he said.

President Biden should be “applauded” for his handling of the crisis and that former President Trump’s recent praise of Putin was not appropriate, Quigley said.