Russia said on Thursday (16) that it is organizing the export of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine through the Sea of Azov. For weeks, the challenge of shipping the millions of tons stored in the Eastern European country has gained prominence in diplomatic dialogues, due to high prices and the imminent food crisis.
Moscow, however, did not clarify who the supplier of the food now exported is. Kiev accuses the Russians of stealing its grain, something the Kremlin denies. The Russian deputy prime minister told Reuters that the country is not exporting Ukrainian grain.
“Russia is only guaranteeing a green corridor so that grains and any other foodstuffs can be exported without obstacles,” stated Viktoria Abramchenko.
Abramchenko also accused Kiev of blocking the port of Odessa from working. Russia, with Turkey’s support, proposed a scheme of maritime corridors to transport the products, but said that the Ukrainian government would have to remove the mines placed in the ports. Ukraine has denied it, saying it fears a Russian attack.
The US satellite imagery company Maxar, also on Thursday, said it had registered Russian-flagged ships transporting grain harvested in Ukraine to Syria, where the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad is supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Maxar footage shows two Russian ships moored at the port on the Moscow-controlled Crimean peninsula in May, being loaded with grain. Days later, satellites recorded the same ships anchored in Syrian territory delivering the cargo.
A week ago, the Association of Grain Producers and Exporters of Ukraine said that Russia stole around 600,000 tonnes of grain from the invaded territory and that it had already exported some. The information could not be independently confirmed.
Several nations repeatedly demand that Russia open Ukrainian ports to allow the export of stored grain. The United States, through Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, called on Thursday that “food not be used as a weapon.”
President Joe Biden said this week that a plan is being put in place to install silos on the Ukrainian border with Poland in the west to store the grain and prevent it from being lost due to poor quality or even stolen.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was earlier in Kiev alongside other European leaders, said on social media that the food crisis is a direct consequence of the war. “We urge Russia to agree to the export of grain, lifting the blockade of Ukrainian ports,” he wrote.
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassili Nebenzia, for his part, said that Russia is not responsible for triggering the food and energy crisis. Instead, he blamed the policies of Western governments as the real motivators.
