Helium, like Neon, (which mostly comes from Ukraine..). are indeed short right now.
The big problem is not that we cant extract it- its how much it costs.
Cheapest way is as a byproduct of Natural Gas.
You COULD build a helium plant, or a neon plant- but it would cost billions, and then, you would have to sell it for so much that nobody would use it for balloons.
Neon is the same thing- in principal, its not that tough- its just, the Ukrainians have been selling it based on long ago amortized soviet era plants, and easy cheap natural gas.
After the war, you can forget about that coming back- seen what the Avestal mill in Maripul looks like now?
It was the second largest steel mill in Europe, and now its rubble.
So, sure, we will always be able to get Helium, and Neon- for a price.
The big boys will be working on lasers that dont need neon, for example, and MRI machines that dont need helium- but we are talking, again, billions, and years, before the new, more expensive tech arrives.
