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Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of blocking millions of tons of grain exports.
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Yale historian Timothy Snyder said Putin plans to starve places in Asia and Africa to win the war.
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“If the food riots start and the famine spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine,” he said.
Yale historian Timothy Snyder said Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to starve some countries as part of his efforts in Ukraine.
Snyder published a long Twitter thread On Saturday, he explained how he believes Putin is using food insecurity to his advantage, calling it the “latest chapter of hunger politics.”
“Russia has a hunger plan. Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war in Europe,” said Snyder, a Yale University professor and an authoritarian expert. , and pointed out the importance of Ukraine’s food exports. to the global food supply.
The Black Sea area, including Ukraine and Russia, has been called the “granary of the world” due to its fertile soil and high grain production. Collectively, the two countries account for 30% of global wheat exports, while Ukraine produces about 12%.
Experts previously told Insider that stopping those exports could have huge consequences for countries like Yemen, which previously got nearly a quarter of its wheat imports from Ukraine.
Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking millions of tons of grain exports from leaving its ports, a charge the Kremlin has denied.
“If the Russian blockade continues, tens of millions of tons of food will rot in silos and tens of millions of people in Africa and Asia will starve,” Snyder said.
The historian said he believed Putin’s “starvation plan” had three main goals. First, to cut off Ukraine’s exports in an attempt to destroy its state. Second, to create instability in Europe by producing refugees from areas dependent on Ukraine’s food, such as North Africa and the Middle East.
Finally, he said Putin wanted to use mass famine as “the backdrop for a propaganda contest.”
“As food riots begin and hunger spreads, Russian propaganda will blame Ukraine and call for recognition of Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine and the lifting of all sanctions,” Snyder said.
The historian also said that both Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler had tried to control Ukraine’s food supply, but Putin’s plan was “a new level of colonialism.”
“Russia plans to starve Asians and Africans to win the war in Europe,” he said.
For his part, Putin has sought to blame the West for global food supply problems and pushed for sanctions to be lifted against Russia, while Britain has accused him of “wanting to force the world to pay ransom” with food.
The war in Ukraine has continued since Russia invaded on February 24. Russian forces refocused on the eastern Donbas region after failing to take the capital Kiev, but Ukrainian officials said this week the country needs more weapons.
Read the original article on Business Insider
