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Rüdiger von Fritsch (2nd from left) in September 2016 at a meeting between the then Federal Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Putin near Moscow
Photo: Soeren Stache / picture alliance / dpa
According to the former German ambassador to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to trigger hunger crises in the Middle East and Africa.
The aim is to destabilize Europe through massive refugee movements, diplomat Rüdiger von Fritsch told the Tagesspiegel.
"Putin's calculus is that after the collapse of grain supplies, the starving people will flee these regions and try to get to Europe - like the millions of Syrians who fled the horrors of war did then." Export grain and bomb grain elevators, said von Fritsch.
“He wants to destabilize Europe with new streams of refugees and build up political pressure so that Western countries give up their tough stance against Russia.
This is his new hybrid warfare,” said von Fritsch.
"Hybrid warfare" also includes the use of non-military means such as cyber attacks or fake news campaigns.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world.
However, exports via the Ukrainian seaports have come to a standstill because of the Russian war of aggression.
According to the federal government, Russia is blocking the export of 20 million tons of grain in Ukraine, mainly to North Africa and Asia, most of it in the port of Odessa.
According to the New York Times, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also warned on Saturday of a global food crisis if Russia were not soon prevented from blocking wheat deliveries.
He brought up a "military solution" for this.
The US broadcaster NBC News reported in early May that in a conversation with US lawmakers, Zelenskyy expressed the desire for modern anti-ship missiles to break the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports.
asa/dpa
