The EU has decried Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a war crime, as experts say it's part of a plan to stoke famine and pressure the Western coalition that's supporting the Ukrainian government.
Russia has a plan to get food. Moscow is planning to starve Asians and Africans in order to win its war in Europe, according to a Yale historian.
It's a new level of colonialism.
Europe's breadbasket, Ukraine, is a major exporter of wheat, sunflowers oil, and corn. It provides 10% of the globe's wheat exports, 15% of corn exports, and 50% of the world's sunflowers oil. Russia's blockade of Black Sea ports has made it difficult for it to export. A shortage of food supply and high prices in many countries could cause tens of millions of people to go without food.
The country's farmers are expected to harvest 60 million additional tons by the fall due to the 18 million tons of grain sitting in storage. "Ukraine's farmers are feeding themselves and millions more people around the world," said the director of the Food and Agriculture Organization's emergencies and resilience office. Ensuring they can continue production, safely store and access alternative markets is vital to strengthen food security within Ukraine and ensure other import dependent countries have enough supply of grain at a manageable cost.
According to the UN, the conflict in Ukraine could lead to 47 million more people not having enough to eat. The countries of Africa and the Middle East rely a lot on Ukrainian grain. Over 40% of Africa's wheat supply comes from Russia and Ukraine.
Russia is the largest producer of wheat and oil in the world. Despite the war in Ukraine, Russia still exports wheat and other commodities. "We will only be supplying food and agriculture products to our friends," said a close ally of Putin. In April, Putin said, "We will have to be more careful about food supplies abroad, especially carefully monitor the exports to countries which are hostile to us."
Thehunger plan is intended to work on three levels, including as a larger effort to destroy the Ukrainian state by cutting off exports.
A world famine is needed for a Russian propaganda campaign against Ukraine. The backdrop for a propaganda contest needs to be actual mass death. When the food riots begin, and as starvation spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine, and call for Russia's territorial gains in Ukraine to be recognized, and for all sanctions to be lifted.
Russia used similar tactics in the war in Syria, according to Rita Konaev. They knew that they would push the envelope to end the war in Syria and accept the future of Syria with Assad. It's part of the Russians' game plan.
Russia's military offensive in Ukraine began as the global economy was still dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. More than 800 million people faced hunger in the first year of the Pandemic.
Ertharin Cousin, who served as executive director of the UN World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017, told Insider that the Russian invasion into Ukranian made the situation worse.
Sub-Saharan Africa, where they are net importers from Ukranian, is more affected by the situation. This affects their ability to purchase food because their source of commodities is no longer available to them. The lack of those grains in the global food system has an effect on the prices of food around the world.
Russia's war in Ukraine is having an effect on the food supply in low-income countries. Skyrocketing prices for grain and other commodities are making it hard for people to survive.
Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, the country director for Save the Children in Somalia, told the Washington Post that the crisis in his country is worse now than it has ever been. Communities are in a state of disrepair.
If the Ukrainian crisis hadn't happened, many people would have survived, and food would have been available, according to the Post.
Zelenskyy blamed the food crisis on Russia. Zelenskyy said in a remote address to the African Union that there would be no shortage of food if it weren't for the Russian war against Ukraine. If it wasn't for the Russian war, we could have had record harvests.
The EU's foreign policy chief said that Russia's blockade on Ukrainian food exports was a real war crime.
Borrell said last month that hunger cannot be used as a weapon.
Putin has denied that Russia is blocking grain exports fromUkraine.
The West is to blame for the food crisis because of the sanctions it has imposed on Moscow. In exchange for the lifting of sanctions, the Russian government is offering safe passage to ships carrying grain. Ukrainian naval mines in the Black Sea have been blamed by Russia for the situation, which would make Ukrainian ports more vulnerable as the Russian assault continues.
The war is to blame for the food crisis because of Russia's occupation of the Black Sea.
Russia is arguing that they can't move their crops because of the sanctions. There are challenges from all sides if you listen to the parties involved. It's not about whether the grain is moving or not, it's about Russia attacking Ukraine. That is what led to the problem.
The leaders of the G7 agreed to give $4.5 billion to address the global food crisis. As countries move to address the situation, Cousin said it's important for governments to avoid the mistake of thinking they can protect their own populations from food insufficiency by implementing export bans or export restrictions.
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