Secretary of State Antony Blinken placed heavy blame on the Kremlin for global food shortages during discussions at a virtual roundtable discussing the ongoing food crisis.
He cited sources claiming Russia has been pilfering Ukraine's grain exports and selling it for their own profit as well as claiming Russia is hoarding their own food exports, according to a June 6 State Department release.
“The Kremlin needs to realize that it is exporting starvation and suffering well beyond Ukraine’s borders, with countries in Africa that are experiencing an outsized share of the pain,” Blinken said in the release.
He called Russian President Vladimir Putin's detrimental actions causing further food insecurity around the world “deliberate,” saying Putin is stopping food exports and using aggressive propaganda tactics to displace responsibility, the release reported. Blinken said this was “blackmail” against the world in hopes sanctions against Russia will be ended.
Russia has been facing blame throughout the duration of their atrocities in Ukraine, and their actions against the Ukrainian food supply are included in those accusations, Euronews reported June 6. During a different meeting with the United Nations Security Council, Russia's UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, walked out after the president of the European Council shared an account of food being stuck on ships at the port of Odessa because of Russia's blockade.
Blinken also commented on the Russian blockade in the Black Sea keeping Ukraine's crops from being shipped, according to the State Department release. He also noted Russian forces are capturing Ukrainian farmland and planting explosives in the fields, further destroying "vital agricultural infrastructure.
