Russia has deprived more than 300 million people in the world of food

According to Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, due to the global food crisis aggravated by the Russian war in Ukraine, 323 million people have found themselves on the brink of starvation.

This is reported by the "European Pravda" with reference to Borrell's speech at the ministerial meeting of the "Group of Twenty" in Indonesia.

"Russia's invasive war against Ukraine is sharply exacerbating the food crisis. In just two years, the number of people in the world facing severe food shortages has doubled from 135 million before the COVID-19 pandemic to 276 million in early 2022 and 323 million today," he said.

The EU top diplomat added that a total of 1.2 billion people worldwide, or one in six people on Earth, are vulnerable because of "a combination of rising food prices, rising energy prices and deteriorating financial conditions."

"The situation could worsen. Russia is blocking 20 million tons of grain in Ukrainian storage facilities. This is a deliberate attempt to use food as a weapon of war not only against Ukraine, but also against the most vulnerable countries in the world," Borrel added.

Russia blocks the waters of the Black Sea, so Ukraine cannot export its food by sea. It also accuses the West of driving up the price of food because of sanctions against it.

Author - Andrew Klark, 09/07/2022