Ukraine FM: Russia playing ‘hunger games’ with world
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba pressed Southeast Asian countries for political and material support in his country’s fight against Russia, while accusing Moscow on Saturday of playing “hunger games” with the world by holding up shipments of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products.
Kuleba told reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit that with a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain and fertiliser due to expire on November 19, the world needed to pressure Russia not to object to its extension, saying Ukrainian products were critical in Africa and Asia.
More than just continuing the deal, however, Kuleba accused Russian inspectors of “quiet sabotage”, saying they were intentionally dragging their feet in allowing shipments through.
Not only does Russia have “to remain part of the initiative, it also has to instruct its inspectors to act in good faith and to avoid any measures, any steps, that create obstacles and hinder the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods to the global market”, he said.
Stabilising Kherson
The Ukrainian military carried out “stabilisation measures” near the southern city of Kherson on Saturday following the end of an eight-month occupation by Russian forces, a retreat that cast a further pall on President Vladimir Putin’s designs to take over large parts of Ukraine.
Britain said Russia’s withdrawal from the only regional capital in Ukraine that it had captured since its invasion began in February was another humiliation for its army.
“Russia’s announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them,” British defence minister Ben Wallace said in a statement on Saturday.