Invading Russian forces in Ukraine are sending grain and farming machinery from the agricultural powerhouse to their mainland, depriving the war-torn nation of export revenue and the capability to feed itself.
Several hundred thousand tons of grain has so far been “exported” to Russia, First Deputy Agricultural Minister Taras Vysotskyi said on the ministry’s Facebook page on May 1.
The stolen grain is being seized in the Russian-occupied parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhya regions, he said.
“The Russians are using the tactics of the early 20th century to steal grain and export it from Ukraine. Today we have confirmed facts that several hundred thousand tons of grain have already been exported from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions,” he said.
In addition, the United Nations reports that Russia’s blockade of the Azov and Black Seas is preventing Ukraine to ship about 4.5 million tons of grain to buyers.
Martin Frick, a UN World Food Program officials, told the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that “hunger should not become a weapon.”
The UN said in March that global food prices rose by more than 12 percent, a record since 1990, state news agency Ukrinform reported.
A video showing Ukrainian farming machinery loaded for shipment to Russia. (Courtesy of Flash)
Twenty-seven units of John Deere farming machinery worth about $5 million was taken from a dealership in occupied Kherson region to Chechnya, a territory of Russia, CNN reported. However, the machinery was rendered useless after being locked remotely.
Before Russia’s renewed invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the country was a top-10 agricultural producer. Ukraine is the top producer of sunflower oil, accounting for 50 percent of global exports, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club.
Kyiv is the second biggest exporter of honey, third largest exporter rapeseed and barley, fourth in corn and fifth in wheat.
On May 2, Russian projectiles struck a grain warehouse and silo in the southeastern region of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, said Valentyn Reznychenko, the head of the region’s military administration.
