Ukraine accused Russia of stealing grain in occupied land on Thursday (Apr. 28), claiming that the action accelerated the negative impact on food security posed by interruptions to spring crop production and the blockade of Ukrainian port facilities during the war.
Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, and the Russian invasion is expected to worsen global food shortages further. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest grain exporter in the 2020/21 season, selling 44.7 million tonnes abroad, according to data from the International Grains Council. Since the Russian invasion, the share of trade has dropped dramatically.
Agricultural shortages and soaring food, fuel, and fertilizer prices could exacerbate existing conflicts.
When questioned about the accusations, the Kremlin stated that it did not know where the accusation is coming from.
"No. We do not know where such information is coming from," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters via the Telegram messenger app when asked if the Kremlin seemed to have any details about Ukraine's accusations.
Ukraine did not provide any information about the alleged grain theft in the Kherson region, whose main city has now been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
"We demand that Russia stop the illegal theft of grain, unblock Ukrainian ports, restore freedom of navigation and allow the passage of merchant ships," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It had started opening a criminal case into accusations made that Russian soldiers had obtained 61 tonnes of wheat from an agricultural enterprise in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine on Apr. 26 after threatening violence. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office said.
In a statement Gilbert Houngbo, President of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development said that he is deeply worried that the conflict between the two nations is heading for a disastrous event for the world's poorest people living in rural areas, and for those who are actively engaged, who will be unable to absorb price hikes in staple foods and agriculture inputs as a consequence of international distribution.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that if the war continues beyond April, severe hunger could rise by 17% globally, with the greatest increases expected in East, West, and Southern Africa. According to them, the total number of people experiencing acute food insecurity in these regions could rise by 20.8 %, affecting 174 million people.
