LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Ukraine-Russia conflict is thousands of miles away from home, but it has lasting effects that Americans, and Kentuckians, are already feeling.
Abby Blanco, associate professor of economics at Bellarmine University, said there are obvious ripple effects like rising gas and energy prices, but there may also be consequences that aren't so obvious.
"Russia and Ukraine make up about 30% of the world's global supply of wheat,” Blanco said. "They're also major exporters of metals like nickel and copper."
The supply chain issues and inflation that are already a concern? She said that'll be exaggerated.
“We are really a global economy and we're all interconnected,” Blanco said.
University of Louisville Economics Associate Professor Alexei Izyumov agrees.
He said Americans can also expect to see higher prices for industrial parts, like for cellphones and computers.
Izyumov served in the Russian Army before coming to the United States, and he hopes Putin stops the invasion.
"Because it will be extremely bloody, extremely costly and with terrible consequences for both Russia and Ukraine and a bad impact on the global economy,” Izyumov said.
He’s been at the University of Louisville since 1995 but still has family in Russia who are upset.
"Because it's like going against your brothers,” Izyumov said. “Ukranians are very, very close to Russia's culture, language, traditions, food customs - almost everything. It's like the U.S. taking Canada and trying to change the government in Canada.”
So far, according to AAA, the price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Kentucky is $3.22. That's up 25 cents from where it was just last month.
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