Ukraine is determined to “continue to guarantee world food security” and to extend its cereal exports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres yesterday.
“I spoke with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres. I confirmed Ukraine’s commitment to the grain deal,” Zelensky wrote on the social network Twitter.
Russia announced on Saturday the suspension of its participation in the agreement on grain exports from Ukrainian ports after a drone attack (unmanned and remotely controlled aircraft) that targeted the Russian fleet stationed in Sevastopol Bay, Crimea. attached.
The agreement, concluded in July under the aegis of the UN and Turkey, allowed the export of several million tons of grain held in Ukrainian ports since the Russian invasion in February, which sent food prices soaring, raising fears of hungry.
At a meeting today at the United Nations Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya accused Ukraine of using the open maritime corridor for the agreement “for military purposes”.
The United States has accused Russia of “collective extortion”.
“It looks like collective punishment or collective extortion. This is not a matter that concerns only two countries (…). It is an urgent imperative” for developing countries,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
“Moscow’s suspension of the deal would represent a collective punishment for the rest of the world, but particularly for low- and middle-income countries that desperately need these cereals,” he added.
Ned Price expressed concern about the rise in food prices around the world, which is already being felt due to the uncertainty surrounding the cereal deal.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused more than 13 million people to flee – more than six million internally displaced people and more than 7.7 million to European countries – according to the latest data. of the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing it on Russia. of political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 6,430 dead civilians and 9,865 wounded, stressing that these numbers are far below the real ones.
