USA raises serious allegations – Putin wants to “blackmail” the world in the Ukraine war
Created: 2022-06-08 05:02
By: Sophia Lother
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accuses Putin of extortion and theft, and Zelenskyi also spoke out.
Washington DC - Is Russia stealing grain from Ukraine for its own profit?
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has now voiced this suspicion.
Reports that Russia is confiscating Ukrainian grain to sell itself have been called Blinken "credible," according to the Afp news agency.
He also accused Moscow of trying to “blackmail” the world by blocking Ukrainian grain exports.
The Russian naval blockade of the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa is preventing grain from being shipped from there to its "normal destinations", said Blinken at a virtual conference by his ministry on the risks to food security arising from the Ukraine war.
Around 20 million tons of wheat are "trapped" in silos near Odessa.
Ukraine war: Blinken criticizes 'blackmail' by Russia
Blinken emphasized that it was a strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wanted to force the rest of the world to “give in” and lift its sanctions against Russia.
"In other words, very simply put, it's blackmail."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says reports that Russia is seizing Ukrainian grain are credible.
© Alex Brandon / AP / dpa
The New York Times reported that several cargo ships had left Russian-controlled ports with "stolen Ukrainian wheat."
The US government pointed out this process to 14 countries, mostly in Africa, for which the wheat was actually intended.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey on Friday accused Moscow of stealing Ukrainian grain and exporting it primarily to Turkey.
Ukraine War: Zelenskyj warns of grain blockade
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Monday that the blockade of grain exports could take on much more dramatic proportions in the coming months.
The blocked amount of grain intended for export from Ukraine could triple to 75 million tons "by the autumn", he told journalists in Kyiv.
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War in Ukraine: Tons of grain blocked – Selenskyj becomes clear
Between 20 and 25 million tons of grain are currently blocked, "this number could rise to 70 to 75 million tons by autumn," Zelenskyy told journalists in Kyiv.
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was the world's fourth largest exporter of wheat and corn.
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"We need sea corridors" for grain deliveries, said the Ukrainian President.
His country is discussing this with Turkey and Great Britain and the UN.
According to him, ten million tons of grain per month could be exported by sea.
Only recently, however, an American general warned against a military solution to the wheat blockade.
Ukraine is also in talks with Poland and the Baltic States about exporting smaller quantities of grain by rail.
Russia and Ukraine together typically cover 30 percent of world wheat exports.
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has pushed up grain and oil prices.
(slo/afp)