German Agriculture Minister accuses Russia of 'using starvation to win war' in Ukraine

Russians are deliberately using starvation as a tool to win the war, Germany’s Agriculture Minister said on Thursday as Putin’s troops continue to block Ukrainian ports. Speaking to N-TV on his visit to Kyiv, Cem Ozdemir reckoned that stonewalling Ukraine’s export of food grains was a “disgusting form of warfare” that the Kremlin was using to salvage its war of attrition. Notably, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for lifting the excruciating blockade on his country’s port stating that it was sabotaging global food security. 

Since the start of the war, Russians have targeted the Ukrainian port cities of Mariupol and Odesa in an effort to cut off the country’s outlet to the Black Sea. On Thursday, Ozdemir stated that he had discussed alternative routes of export with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi. However, he pointed out that “alternative routes cost an insane amount of money.” Notably, the German lawmaker also revealed that his ministry was also working to devise alternative routes of trade for Ukraine. 

“It would be kamikaze for Ukraine to rely on Putin’s word without credible, effective military guarantees that the security of Ukrainian ports and ships is assured,” Özdemir said. He further said, “I would not trust Putin’s word in any way; he has proven to be a notorious liar.” 

Pre-war Ukraine exported around three-quarters of the grains that it produced. According to data from the European Commission, about 90% of these exports were shipped by sea, from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Now with the Russian de-facto blockade on the ports, there are hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of grains rotting in the ports of Odesa and Mariupol. 

Turkey mulling to establish shipping channels out of Ukraine's port

Meanwhile earlier this week, Turkey said it was mulling to establish shipping channels out of Ukraine's ports via its Bosphorus Strait. However, the plan was thwarted after officials in Kyiv indicated it would take six months to clear the coast of Russian and Ukrainian mines. On the same day that Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, arrived in Ankara, Turkey's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, stated in a statement that his government was working with the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to restore ports in the Black Sea that had been closed by the Russian blockade.