Russia's invasion of Ukraine is barely a month old, yet it's having an impact on the global economy in multiple respects and likely on multiple timeframes. The most important is, of course, the suffering and devastation of Ukraine. We also have a spike in food, energy, and commodity prices are given that so many commodities originate from Ukraine and Russia.

A longer-term impact will be that countries will have to move away from relying on energy and commodity exports from Russia. Instead, they will have to diversify and invest in their own production of energy. While renewable energy like wind and solar are part of the solution, they and battery technology simply aren't at a place where oil and gas can be substituted. Therefore, there is increasing interest in nuclear and LNG as interim solutions to reduce reliance on energy.

Nuclear Energy

In the short-term, sanctions on Russia is likely to cause the price of uranium to rise given that it is the largest source of uranium due to its huge stockpiles from the Soviet Union. In the longer-term, it's likely to increase demand for nuclear as people on both sides are acknowledging that it's a necessary intermediate step.

Of course, this is a reversal of policies to curtail use of nuclear energy due to pressure from certain environmental groups and the damage from the Fukushima disaster. Of course, that was an easier decision in a world where energy was relatively cheap and abundant.

Now, even Japan is expressing interest in restarting its own nuclear plants due to rising prices, while countries like UK and Finland are building new plants.

LNG

Another positive of nuclear is that it doesn't generate emissions like fossil fuels .Around 40% of Europe's energy needs are served by natural gas from Russia. With countries looking to phase this source of energy out, there could be increased demand for LNG.

LNG is liquefied natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state for shipping and storage. Since, North America is rich in natural gas, it basically means that natural gas would be drilled and shipped to Europe. Of course, this entire process is energy-intensive and takes a lot of capital but has potential in terms of being cleaner than coal or oil and also reducing dependence on Russian oil.

Conclusion

Both of these are likely to be part of the solution to serve Europe's long-term energy needs. Russia's invasion of Ukraine seems to have catalyzed a change in sentiment in terms of the E.U.'s unity, increase in defense spending, and change in energy policy. Uranium and LNG will be the biggest beneficiaries of the latter development.