The Russian media are spreading information that the West, in particular Great Britain, is forcing Ukrainian authorities to create a food shortage, possibly another Holodomor, and blaming Russia for it.
Holodomor refers to the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33 as a result of Soviet policy.
They say that Ukraine is planning to export to England the remains of agricultural products stored in the state reserve. The Russian media argue that agricultural exports to Europe could lead to famine in Ukraine.
That’s not true; nor is the assertion that the export of agricultural products to Europe will lead to famine. Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, however, could. As for the export of agricultural products, these are from last year’s harvest, which, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, was in excess and thus planned to be exported until August. The same opinion was expressed by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solsky. According to him, there are 20 million tonnes of last year’s crop.
This means money for farmers which they use for sowing, rent and other needs. Even a partial resumption of exports is extremely important since it ensures the flow of funds for the sowing campaign: the purchase of diesel fuel, seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products and for the payment of wages.
A US official has said the Russians damaged at least six granaries in Ukraine. These are deliberate actions of the Russian Federation because the granaries do not pose a threat to them. We are talking about food security not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world. According to the US State Department, the Russian Navy is blocking more than 90 civilian ships in the Black Sea region that were supposed to transport grain and other food. Russia has already bombed at least three civilian ships carrying goods from Black Sea ports around the world, including one chartered by an agricultural company. As a result, this may negatively affect the food sector in Europe itself because about 30 per cent of the world’s wheat exports fall in the Black Sea region, besides 20 per cent of corn and 75 per cent of vegetable oil.
According to Human Rights Watch, the food crisis has already worsened in the Middle East and North Africa due to Russian aggression in Ukraine. In particular, Lebanon receives 80 per cent of its wheat from Ukraine, Egypt buys wheat as well as large volumes of vegetable oil, Libya imports more than 40 per cent of wheat from Ukraine, Yemen at least 27 per cent. In addition, northwestern Syrian authorities provide the region with wheat and flour purchased through Turkey, which also imports 90 per cent of its wheat from Ukraine.
Due to the blocking of seaports, Ukraine began to export grain to the EU by rail. Traders have already made the first deliveries of Ukrainian corn to the EU countries. That is, Ukraine is making every effort to prevent a food crisis not only within the country, but also ensures supplies to other countries whose well-being depends on Ukrainian agricultural products. Therefore, complications of the situation are possible only as a result of military actions and aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine.
(The writer is a former Ukrainian diplomat-turned-journalist based out of Warsaw, Poland)
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