Russian President Vladimir Putin. Figure: Flip through Putin’s Facebook (file photo)
Russia has been sanctioned by the international community for its violation of Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened that Russia “will retaliate”, suggesting that restrictions on food exports may be one of the means of retaliation. The current Kremlin aide and former Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin announced at a youth forum in Moscow on the 19th that Putin had taken relevant measures long before Russia sent troops to Ukraine to deal with the food that threatened the world. Prepare for a crisis.
“President Putin is aware that these problems could affect Russia. Russia is actively preparing for a global food shortage, which has been in action since the end of last year,” Oreshkin said. He said he believed there would be a “global famine” by the end of 2022, and added that It said the “ill-thought-out” policies of the United States and European Union (EU) countries were behind the food crisis. He also criticized the U.S. attempt to ship food out of Ukraine, which would lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Ukraine and a “major” global food problem.
Russia and Ukraine together account for 30 percent of global wheat supplies. Moscow’s military action in Ukraine and subsequent unprecedented international sanctions have disrupted supplies of fertilizers, wheat and other commodities between the two countries, pushing up food and fuel prices, with developing countries being particularly affected. The United Nations this week urged Moscow to release food stranded in Ukrainian ports as a result of Russian operations.
Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine on February 24, claiming that Ukraine needs to be “demilitarized” and “denazified”. Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was regarded as the “granary of the world”, exporting 4.5 million tons of agricultural products through its ports every month, of which wheat accounted for 12% of the world’s total production, corn accounted for 15%, and sunflower oil accounted for half, but in Odessa (Odessa), Chornomorsk (Chornomorsk) and other ports are blocked by the Russian army, and supplies can only be transported by congested land, which is much less efficient.
In addition, the Russian army is also busy smuggling Ukrainian grain to other countries for sale. According to Belarusian media NEXTA, Russia has three cargo ships, including those responsible for looting grain from areas occupied by Ukraine, one of which, the Matros Pozinich, has recently arrived at the Syrian port of Latakia. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry estimates that at least 400,000 tons of grain have been stolen and taken out of Ukraine since Russia invaded the country.
Putin has previously said that Russia will carefully “monitor” grain exports to “hostile” countries, implying that restrictions on grain exports may be part of Russia’s retaliation for sanctions. of the people of other countries. Previously, the Russian army deliberately destroyed grain storage facilities in eastern Ukraine and stole grain, showing that Russia has a planned intention to affect the global food supply.