Ukrainian crops, a weapon of war and negotiation

Euskaraz irakurri: Ukrainako laboreak, gerrarako eta negoziaziorako weapon

Ukraine’s Black Sea ports have been blockaded since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and more than 20 million tons of grain are trapped in silos and ports in the country.

Ukraine claims that Russia is stealing the grain and trucking it to the occupied Crimean peninsula, from where it is shipped to Russia or to third countries, such as Syria. According to the Ukrainian ombudsman, Liudmyla Denisova, the Russians are also trying to get grain from the port of occupied Mariupol, on the Sea of ​​Azov, by rail. And for this reason, according to kyiv, repair work on this railway line has begun urgently.

Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of world supplies of wheat, corn and sunflower oil and lack of exports significant imports of grain from Ukrainian ports is contributing to a growing food crisis world.

Faced with this reality, Russia claims to be ready to open a humanitarian corridor so that the ships that transport food leave the Ukraine, in exchange, yes, for the llifting of some sanctionsaccording to the Interfax news agency, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko.

“The solution to the food problem requires a comprehensive approach, including the lifting of the sanctions that have been imposed on Russian exports and financial transactions,” Rudenko said, thus charging the responsibility of a possible food crisis on the backs of the Western powers.

While Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of planting shoreline mines of the Black Sea, so that the merchandise can be loaded and transported, it will be necessary to clear the port areas, regardless of who has put them there.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday that Russia was using food supplies as a weapon of war with global repercussions.

Western powers try to find alternative routes that allow the merchandise to be transported, by means of trucks or the railway network, mainly to Poland. This is going to be, for the time being, very difficult, since the width of the Ukrainian railway network and the standard width of the European network do not coincide. In addition, war activity has damaged much of the Ukrainian railway system.

Ukraine is a large global food supply basket. The country is the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, the fourth largest exporter of corn and the fifth largest exporter of wheat.

For this reason, leaders from around the world have expressed their concern that this blockade will generate shortages, especially in the poorest countries, and with it political instability that will generate new conflicts throughout the world.

Another factor to be taken into account is the fact that, due to the war, 30% of the surface of winter wheat, corn and sunflower in Ukraine will remain this year without harvesting or without sowing during the spring.

It must not be forgotten, moreover, that time runs against because, if the agreements and solutions do not come soon, the food already stored could spoil.