Zelenskyy accuses Russia of disrupting even alternative routes of grain export

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again accused Russia of hindering alternative routes used by the war-torn nation to export grain to the whole world. While speaking at the Indonesian think tank 'Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia,' the President said he wants to avert the food crisis generated by the ongoing war but added that Russian forces are now attacking the alternative route taken by Ukrainian troops. He said Ukraine has been trying to export food grains to the world market by rail through European ports.

"We want to prevent the food crisis from unfolding. We are working to shift our exports to new routes as much as possible during the war, and we will supply grain to the world market by rail through European ports," Ukrinform quoted Zelenskyy as saying during the virtual event.

"Of course, this may be a smaller volume of exports than the Black Sea, but Russia is also trying to thwart our efforts when it destroys railway bridges, railway stations, and logistics centres with missiles," he added.

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US rejects Russia's proposal of freeing Ukrainian ports in exchange for lifting sanctions

Notably, major seaports have been blocked in Ukraine since the initial days of the war. Since then, Ukraine has been exporting grains to the whole world by alternate routes. Earlier, on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it would be ready to provide a humanitarian corridor to export Ukrainian crops across the Black Sea in exchange for lifting sanctions. However, the United States rejected Moscow's proposal of unblocking Ukrainian ports. While addressing a press conference on Wednesday, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price called the suggestion "worthless" to control inflation. "Of course, we will not lift sanctions in response to empty promises. We have heard empty promises from the Russian Federation before. I think we have reason to be sceptical when we hear different promises and proposals from Russia," European Truth quoted Price as saying during a presser.

Earlier this month, the World Food Programme said up to 20 million people along the Horn of Africa are facing severe hunger. Though the WFP noted the condition was not good even before Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a brutal war against Ukraine, the situation has worsened further as the major port that supplies agricultural production to the whole world remained blocked by the Russian troops. According to the WFP report, in Somalia, an eastern African country, about 40% of the population (nearly 60 lakh) has been suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

Image: AP