By Neelam Rahim

In February, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine halted Kyiv’s Black Sea grain exports, threatening a global food crisis. Has driven up world food prices to record levels.

Black Sea ports in Ukraine, the world’s fourth-largest grains exporter, have been blocked by Russian naval forces since the invasion, with about 20 million tonnes of grain now stuck in the country.

Radio Islam discusses the current situation in Ukraine with Alexander Khrebet, an international desk editor at the ZNUA, a media house in Ukraine.

Russia is pushing their offences Eastern North. They have almost occupied the Luhansk region and more than half of the Donetsk region. They also occupy the Southern Ukrainian part of Cherson, which is like the food basket of Ukraine and half of Europe.

“The Level of resilience from the Ukrainians is going strong as they believe in the victory and the prevailing over Russia in this brutal war.”

Reports indicate that there are allegations that Russia is blocking the ports. And that Ukraine, The world’s fourth-largest grain exporter, is struggling to get out its grain to the rest of the world.  

Alexander says, “Russia has occupied a couple of Ukraine seaports including one of the biggest seaports in Ukraine which is in Odesa, so there is about twenty-two million tons of grain stuck in Ukraine. Authorities and exporters are trying to export this grain through the land to Poland and then to the Baltic seaports; however, it’s not how it works, and it is costly.”

“This has affected around four hundred million people around the globe, especially in the middle Eastern Africa. Mainly North Africa in the Sahel region. The shortages have already caused protests as Sri Lanka defaulted because of the food price increase and people cannot afford such high prices. The UN also said they will shorten the food of people on the edge of hunger and give food only to those starving.

The food crisis is affecting everybody and will increase in the coming months if Russia does not attack DE blockade Ukrainian seaports to export this grain,” says Alexander.