Russia was accused in the Security Council on Tuesday of causing a "global food crisis" and putting people at risk of "famine" due to the outbreak of the Ukraine war, which is considered Europe's "breadbasket." U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stated during a Security Council meeting dedicated to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin "started this war. Vladimir Putin caused this global food crisis. He is the one who can stop it." She emphasized that "the responsibility for launching the war on Ukraine and its consequences on global food security lies solely with Russia and President Putin."
Furthermore, the French ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Rivière, stressed that "Russia's aggression against Ukraine exacerbates the risk of famine around the world," noting that populations in developing countries would be the first to be affected. He added, "There is no doubt that Russia will try to make us believe that the sanctions imposed against it are responsible for the imbalance in the world's food security situation."
In response, Moscow's representative at the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, insisted that the existing disturbances in the global food market are due to the "hysteria of rampant sanctions unleashed by the West against Russia." Sherman and the executive director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, noted that Ukraine and Russia, the two main grain producers, account for 30 percent of global wheat exports, 20 percent of corn, and 75 percent of sunflower oil.
On Friday, the European Union announced an initiative to alleviate the food shortage caused by the war. The EU and the United States are seeking a multilateral commitment to lift restrictions on the export of agricultural-related raw materials. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya pointed out that the conflict in Ukraine "threatens to worsen conditions in the worst humanitarian crises facing the world, such as in Afghanistan, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa," where food insecurity is fundamentally an issue.
