The Black Sea blockade that’s stopping Ukraine from exporting meals and different items is a “war crime” and Russia can be held accountable if it continues, the European Union’s overseas coverage chief, Josep Borrell Fontelles, mentioned on Monday.
Ukraine was a main exporter of grain, cooking oil and fertilizer earlier than the Russian invasion in February, however the blockade — together with Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian farmland and its destruction of agricultural infrastructure — have prompted Ukraine’s exports to break down. The newest blow got here Monday, when Ukrainian regional authorities mentioned that a Russian missile strike in Odesa had burned down a meals logistics warehouse.
The drop in exports has contributed to a spike in world meals costs, exacerbated by rising demand because the world financial system emerges from the pandemic. The United Nations has warned of starvation and even famine in some nations as a outcome, notably in Africa.
“You cannot use the hunger of people as a weapon of war,” Mr. Borrell mentioned after arriving in Luxembourg for a assembly of E.U. overseas ministers. “Millions of tons of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger. This is a real war crime, so I cannot imagine that this will last much longer.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made the identical level in a distant deal with to the African Union on Monday. Moscow has deep ties to many African nations, which have been reluctant to criticize the invasion.
“If it was not for the Russian war against Ukraine, there simply would be no shortage in the food market,” Mr. Zelensky mentioned. “If it was not for the Russian war, our farmers and agricultural companies could have ensured record harvests this year.”
Moscow’s naval dominance of the Black Sea, nonetheless, provides it important diplomatic leverage. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has mentioned he’ll elevate the blockade if sanctions, imposed by Western and different governments as a result of of the battle, are eliminated.
The European Union, the United States and others are engaged on enhancing land routes for Ukraine exports, however Mr. Zelensky mentioned that a “much smaller volume can be supplied via new routes, and it takes much more time.”
“We are holding complex multilevel negotiations to unblock our Ukrainian ports,” he instructed the African Union. “But you see that there is no progress yet because no real tool has yet been found to ensure that Russia does not attack them again.”
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