At the UN Security Council, Russia has been under increasing pressure as several countries, including China, demand that Moscow reinstate Ukrainian grain supplies to prevent a worldwide food crisis.
Critics have accused Russia and Ukraine of breaking international humanitarian law by halting a key grain sale, which destroyed civilian infrastructure.
A new grain agreement
The UN issues a dire warning in response to Russia’s designation of certain Black Sea regions as dangerous for shipping. Geng Shuang, China’s deputy UN ambassador, expressed the hope that Russia and the UN will cooperate to quickly restart grain shipments from both nations to maintain global food security and ease the food crisis in developing nations.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador, charged Russia with using the Black Sea as “blackmail” and urged all UN members to press Russia to pick up the pace of negotiations.
- Russia faces pressure from UN Security Council to reinstate Ukrainian grain supplies.
- US ambassador accuses Russia of Black Sea blackmail and urges UN negotiations.
- Moscow blocks route, raising agricultural prices, affecting African states.
The ‘Black Sea Grain Initiative,’ a Russia-Ukraine grain agreement, enables Ukraine to export 36.2 million tons of food to other countries, particularly those in Africa.
Moscow, however, barred the route, which caused the price of wheat, grains, and other agricultural items to skyrocket. Given that several African states are on the verge of starvation, Russia’s move has serious repercussions for those nations.
In response, Russia has launched several attacks on Ukrainian farm storage facilities and port infrastructure, ostensibly to hamper the latter’s food exports. In the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, an “important infrastructure facility” was reportedly destroyed on Friday.
