At a meeting of UN foreign ministers in New York, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of using the weapon to block grain exports from Ukraine. “Through the blockade of Ukrainian ports, the destruction of barns, roads and train tracks and especially farmers’ fields, Russia has started a grain war, which is igniting a global food crisis,” Baerbock said in New York on Wednesday. For Baerbock, Russia is not only waging a brutal war with tanks, missiles and bombs, but also “with another terrible, but silent weapon: hunger and deprivation.” This comes at a time when millions of people in the Middle East and Africa are at risk of starvation.
According to the German government, Russia is blocking the delivery of 20 million tons of cereals, especially to North Africa, Asia, and a large part of them is located in the port of Odessa. Ukraine is one of the largest producers of grain. It was the US that put world food security consultations on the UN agenda and invited 30 states to New York. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also stepped up pressure on Moscow. ” Russia must allow safe exports from Ukrainian ports of stored grain,” Guterres said.
Destruction in Odessa
The war will last
Meanwhile in Kiev Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has prepared the Ukrainian people for a long war. In a video speech Wednesday night, he addressed citizens in the occupied territories in the south, giving them hope that Ukraine would liberate them. In this context, he announced the extension of the right to war and general mobilization for another 90 days until August 23. “Our army and all those who defend the state must have at their disposal all the legal means to act in peace.”/DW