DAVOS, Switzerland – Fears of a global food crisis are growing as Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s seaports and attacks on the country’s grain warehouses choke one of its supplies. grain of the world, fueling fears that President Vladimir Putin is using food as a powerful new weapon in his three-month-old war.
World leaders call for international action to deliver 20 million tons of grain stuck in Ukraine. Some warn that unless the port of Odesa is opened soon, there is a risk of famine in some countries and political instability in others, which could have severe global consequences. most from Russia’s attack on its neighbour.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, accused the Russian military of confiscating Ukrainian grain stocks and agricultural machinery, Russian artillery shelling grain depots and warships in the Black Sea trapping Ukrainian cargo ships. full of wheat and sunflower seeds.
“On top of that, Russia is now hoarding its food exports as a form of blackmail, constraining supplies to raise global prices or trading wheat in exchange for political favors,” von der Leyen said. said in an annual political meeting. and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
She said the European Union is working to open alternative routes for overland shipments, linking Ukraine’s border with European ports. But with the West reluctant to risk a direct military confrontation with Russia, and the world’s food distribution network already crippled by pandemic-related supply disruptions, freeing up food exports has become increasingly difficult. Ukraine’s reality will be very difficult and dangerous.
Among the proposals circulating, according to some news reports, is a story by a Lithuanian government official in which a flotilla, escorted by ships from non-NATO countries, will attempt to break the Russian naval blockade off Odesa and escort Ukrainian cargo ships. The countries most affected by food shortages, such as Egypt, will provide the corvettes.
At the World Economic Forum, where worries about the effects of war have overshadowed almost any other global issue, political leaders and food security experts used the language of revelation. myth to describe the threat.
“It was a perfect storm within a perfect storm,” said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, a United Nations agency. “If we don’t open the port of Odesa, then our problems will become more complicated.” He warned that the situation was “absolutely dire,” “We’re going to have hunger all over the world.”
