US says a Russian 'disinformation campaign' is blaming the West for the food crisis as Russia faces accusations of blocking Ukrainian grain exports

The US State Department said Wednesday that Russia and its proxies are blaming the West and Ukraine for the global food crisis in a massive disinformation campaign that mainly targets the Middle East and Africa.

According to a Yale historian, Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning to use mass starvation as a backdrop for a propaganda contest.

"When the food riots begin, and as starvation spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine, and call for Russia's territorial gains in Ukranian to be recognized, and for all sanctions to be lifted."

The State Department described what it said in its report.

The area around the Black Sea, including Russia, has been referred to as the "world's breadbasket" due to its fertile soil and high rates of grain production.

The Kremlin has denied blocking millions of tons of grain from leaving Ukrainian ports.

Russia is now targeting the areas of the world most impacted with false narratives that claim the food security is due to "illegal, anti-Russian" sanctions, Europe "hoarding" Ukrainian grain, or even trading weapons for grain from Kyiv. Russian officials make claims and then repeat them on the media.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged African ambassadors to demand the lifting of sanctions in order to address food insecurity, according to the report.

On the day after, the Russian foreign minister appeared on a Russian state-owned outlet and accused the West of blackmailing African and Arab countries to join anti-Russia sanctions.

The report said that it was intended to both hide Russia's culpability and persuade leaders of at-risk countries to support an end to sanctions designed to stop Russia's war in Ukraine.

The State Department said that the US and its allies made exceptions for food and agriculture products in order to avoid threats to global food security.

The report said that the Russian government should stop weaponizing food and allowUkraine to safely ship out its grain so that millions of hungry people in the Middle East and Africa can be fed.

The plan was to use mass starvation as a propaganda tool in order to win the war in Ukraine.

He said that Putin wanted to cause instability in Europe by starving nations. He said that cutting offUkraine's exports would endanger its statehood.