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In response to
"An undated video of Prigozhin discussing his well-being surfaces a day after his funeral."
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crash davis 😺
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The war will leave poorer countries struggling for food this year, a U.S. intelligence report says.
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A newly released U.S. intelligence report warns that disruptions to the world’s grain supply caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine mean that poorer countries will probably struggle to provide food to their populations through at least the end of this year, given volatile agricultural prices and rapid rises in the price of fertilizer and fuel across the globe.
The report was written by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in June and released on Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee. It found that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain despite the war, had lowered food prices at the end of 2022 globally. The report anticipated, however, that the deal would likely end. It did so in July, when Russia abandoned the agreement, complaining that it was being carried out unfairly as it looked to further squeeze the Ukrainian economy.
The report also builds on prior U.S. warnings that the Russian military has stolen Ukrainian grain to boost Russia’s exports. It said that, according to an analysis of satellite imagery, six million tons of wheat were harvested in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and that occupation governments were seizing grain from private companies. The confiscated grain is mixed with Russian-grown crops, complicating estimates of how much food is being stolen by Russia, it said.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat of Illinois who had pushed for the report to be written, said on Wednesday that Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal had highlighted the need for a more global effort to counteract the “risk of starvation” caused by the war.
“This report confirms that Russia has weaponized access to food at the expense of many countries and millions of the world’s most vulnerable people,” Mr. Krishnamoorthi said.
The report said that many poor countries, already battered by the Covid pandemic and burdened by high debt levels, had been unable to respond to the food crisis. It raised the prospect that poorer countries with weak governments, particularly nations in sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen, will struggle to provide “sufficient and affordable food to their populations through the end of the year.” The report also highlighted risk for Egypt, the world’s single largest wheat importer.
Ukraine and Russia together export 34 percent of the wheat and 17 percent of the corn that enters global markets. The war disrupted both countries’ production and exports, leading the United Nations food price index to reach its highest level since its inception in 1996. Fertilizer prices also reached near record levels.
The report said that future food prices would depend on whether Russia rejoined the deal. But Ukrainian farmers have already planted between 30 and 35 percent less barley, corn and wheat this year compared to a five-year average of previous years, it said.
— Julian E. Barnes reporting from Washington
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