Millions of people are at risk of starvation due to Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned today.
In a televised address, Zelensky said the world was on the brink of a “terrible food crisis”, with Ukraine unable to export large quantities of wheat, corn, oil and other products, which had a “stabilizing role in the world market”.
“This means that unfortunately there may be a shortage of products in dozens of countries around the world. Millions of people are at risk of starvation if the Russian blockade of the Black Sea continues,” he said.
Russia has occupied large parts of the Ukrainian coast for nearly 15 weeks, and its warships control the Black and Azov Seas, blocking exports of Ukrainian agricultural products and raising grain prices.
Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of instrumentalizing food supplies.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for landmines and international sanctions against Moscow.
Blaming Russia for the blockade, Zelensky said that “while we are looking for ways to protect freedom, someone else is destroying it. Someone else is still blackmailing the world with hunger.”
Ukraine exported up to six million tonnes of grain a month before the Russian invasion on February 24, which Moscow described as a “special military operation.”
The volume of these exports has since dropped to about one million as Ukraine, which used to export most of its products by sea, has been forced to transport grain by train across its western border or through its small ports on the Danube. .
Source: Capital
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