EU: The blockade of Ukrainian grain by Russia is a “real war crime”

• Russia’s blockade of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain is a “true war crime.”
• One cannot conceive that millions of tons of wheat are still stuck in Ukraine.
• While, people throughout the world go hungry.

According to EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell, Russia’s blockade of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain is a “true war crime.”

“It’s incomprehensible – one cannot conceive that millions of tons of wheat are still stuck in Ukraine while people throughout the world go hungry,” Mr. Borrell added.

“We demand that Russia unblock the [Ukrainian] ports.”

Foreign ministers from across the EU are meeting to examine the problem.

Read more: US urges Russia to open Ukrainian ports for grain exports

Western countries have requested that Russia dismantle its blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and enable large food stocks to reach global markets.

The embargo has prompted predictions that tens of millions of people are at risk of starvation, as well as an increase in food costs.

“This is a true war crime, so I cannot expect that this will persist much longer,” Mr. Borrell said ahead of the conference in Luxembourg.

He said Russia should be held “accountable” if it continues to impede essential grain exports from Ukraine.

The EU’s 27-nation bloc refutes Russia’s accusations that EU sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine are to blame for rising prices and food shortages in the Middle East and Africa.

Read more: United States developing rail-based plan to transport grain from Ukraine

“I want to emphasize that it is not European sanctions that are causing this problem – our sanctions do not target food or fertilizers,” Mr. Borrell said.

“The issue stems from Russia’s grain blockade of Ukraine.”

As Putin seeks power over the West, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna stated, “Russia must stop playing with global hunger.”

“Blocking wheat is bad for global stability,” she stated.

The head of the Polish prime minister’s office, Michal Dworczyk, is due to speak with Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov about changes that will speed up checks for trucks on the Polish-Ukrainian border to help export more grain from Ukraine.

Read more: Biden highlights grain silos near the Ukrainian border; Kyiv wants ports open