Putin turns screw on global food supplies
Russia accused of destroying infrastructure that feeds millions across the world
VLADIMIR PUTIN is “weaponising” global food supplies by stealing grain and destroying agricultural equipment as part of his war in Ukraine, Western officials have said.
The Kremlin is believed to be dismantling infrastructure needed for food production and blocking ports that are vital in shipping cereals out of the country, which is known as the breadbasket of Europe. Officials fear Russia has embarked on a “deliberate policy” of disrupting food supplies, sparking a global crisis and raising the prospect of starvation in developing countries.
The Russian army has destroyed silos and other food production infrastructure in cities such as Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk, say Western sources.
The UN estimates that 1.7billion people in more than 100 countries are being affected by the current surge in food, energy and commodity prices.
Official figures revealed yesterday that grocery bills in the UK rose at their fastest pace for more than a decade in April, helping to drive inflation to a 40-year high of 9 per cent.
A Western official said: “[Russia] has exacerbated a pre-existing bad situation and created a major threat to global food security through a policy of weaponisation of global food supply.”
They added that record grocery bills have proved the “last straw” for many poor countries, and said intelligence experts are closely monitoring the situation over fears of mass unrest across Africa and the Middle East.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its debts for the first time since independence last night following weeks of protests.
It comes after Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, warned on Monday of “apocalyptic” food price rises and raised concerns about a disastrous impact on the developing world.
In Britain, the cost of cooking oils, dairy and staples such as pasta is rapidly rising, and the crisis is far more severe in countries where food accounts for a larger share of households’ costs.
Ukraine and Russia produce a quarter of global wheat exports and a fifth of corn output between them.
Fuel, fertiliser and feed prices have jumped, with Ukraine producing half of the world’s sunflower oil.
The UN warned this week that almost 25 million tons of wheat in Ukrainian warehouses are being left to rot because the supplies cannot leave the country. It also said that some grain storage had been destroyed.
It came as Moscow said yesterday that nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol, a claim yet to be confirmed by Ukraine.
Kyiv had ordered its garrison to stand down, but a pro-russian separatist leader said commanders were still in tunnels under the Azovstal steelworks.
Yesterday, a Russian soldier pleaded guilty to killing a Ukrainian civilian in the first war crimes trial to be held since the conflict started. The hearing in a Kyiv courtroom is one of a series of trials of Russian servicemen.
Meanwhile, Turkey vetoed a Nato decision on whether to accept Finland and Sweden into the military alliance.
At a “classified” meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels, the Turkish representative stopped a vote on their applications, officially submitted earlier in the day, according to sources.
The meeting was called in the hope of agreeing an accelerated accession process to head off Russian threats of aggression aimed at the Nordic nations.
MARIUPOL will be rebuilt in the model of Grozny, according to the Chechen warlord who led fighters into the siege of Ukraine’s destroyed port city.
It has been reduced to rubble under the constant Russian bombardment and only a few senior members of the Ukrainian military, holed up at the Azovstal steel plant, refuse to surrender.
Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, suffered a similar fate when it was declared the world’s “most destroyed city” after Kremlin forces pummelled it during the 1990s Chechen war.
It was later rebuilt and now features glass skyscrapers and neat public gardens under the tyrannical rule of Ramzan Kadyrov.
The Chechen strongman’s family became leaders after they pledged allegiance to Vladimir Putin, who in turn promised to pay for their capital city to be rebuilt.
In a bid to seize control of Mariupol Russia deployed thousands of Chechen fighters under the control of Mr Kadyrov.
It is likely he will continue to oversee troops in the region to block any Ukrainian attempts to liberate the city.
Mr Kadyrov yesterday suggested a new collaborator government could benefit from offering their unwavering support to Mr Putin.
“Our practice of quickly and efficiently restoring a comfortable and beautiful urban environment will provide significant support to local authorities,” he said.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said the Chechen leader’s presence in Mariupol was down to “significant resourcing problems” for Russia.
“In attempting to overcome Ukrainian resistance, Russia has made significant use of auxiliary personnel.
“This includes a deployment of Chechen forces, likely consisting of several thousand fighters primarily concentrated in the Mariupol and Luhansk sectors.
“Kadyrov likely maintains close personal oversight of the deployment, while his cousin Adam Delimkhanov has likely acted as the Chechen field commander in Mariupol.
“The combat deployment of such disparate personnel demonstrates Russia’s significant resourcing problems in Ukraine and is likely contributing to a disunited command which continues to hamper Russia’s operations.”
Mariupol is expected to fall under complete Russian control in the coming days.
Since the resistance fighters surrendered on Monday, scores of Ukrainian troops have been bussed away to Russian-held territories in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Ukraine said it would negotiate prisoner exchanges with Moscow for captured Russians, but talks have since broken down. The Kremlin has suggested that surrendered Ukrainian fighters could face war crimes charges, casting doubt over the fate of the remaining troops still in the Azovstal plant.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the Kremlinrun Donetsk People’s Republic, said: “As for war criminals as well as those who are nationalists, their fate, if they laid down their arms, should be decided by the courts.
“If the enemy has laid down arms, then his fate will be decided by the courts. If it is a Nazi criminal, then it’s a tribunal.”
Russia’s investigative committee said it would “check their involvement in crimes committed against civilians”.
Kyiv vowed to do “everything necessary” to evacuate the remaining troops in the steelworks, while Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said his best negotiators were working on potential prisoner swap deals.
Meanwhile, wider peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stagnated, officials said, with Moscow warning a return to talks may be difficult.
Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, said the talks are “on hold” as Moscow is unwilling to accept “it will not achieve any goals”.
“Russia does not demonstrate a key understanding of today’s processes in the world,” he said.
The Kremlin accused Kyiv of hardening its stance and the West for bolstering the government of Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Washington, London and Brussels wanted to use Ukraine to their strategic advantage.
He said no peace agreement could be reached if negotiators tried to “transfer dialogue” to focus on what the West had to say instead of the situation in Ukraine.
“We always say that we are ready for negotiations… but we were given no other choice.”
Mr Lavrov’s deputy, Andrey Rudenko, said Kyiv “has practically withdrawn from the negotiations process”, while Leonid Slutsky, a Russian negotiator said talks were not being conducted in any format.
Russia said yesterday that nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol but Kyiv was silent about their fate.