Ukraine claims Russia 'shamelessly' stealing & sending grains abroad, including Turkey

Amid the ongoing brutal war in Eastern Europe, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodna on Friday claimed that Russian forces are "stealing and sending" tons of food grains from Crimea to nations outside the country. Turkey is among the nations that are receiving such shipments, according to Bodna. It is to mention that Turkey has condemned Russia's incursion and sent armaments to Kyiv but it has opposed Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bid, which requires the support of all alliance members.

Taking to Twitter, Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey said, “Russia shamelessly steals Ukrainian grain and drives it out of the occupied Crimea.”  

According to a Newsweek report, Vasyl Bodnar's remarks came after the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Friday that he will soon visit Turkey, which is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member. 

Zelenskyy accuses Moscow of 'stealing and exporting' Ukrainian grains

In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged that Russia had barred over 20 million tons of food grains from entering Ukrainian ports. Zelenskyy, during a joint news conference with the Portuguese Prime Minister in Kyiv, noted that Russia had blocked nearly all Ukrainian ports and roughly 22 million tonnes of grain which includes barley, sunflowers, and other crops. According to a Ukrinform report, Zelenskyy also accused Moscow of "stealing and exporting" Ukrainian grains and said that Ukrainian officials have a good understanding of where stolen grains are being transported and that the nation's Foreign Ministry is looking into the situation. 

While, on the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in an interview with the Russian television channel "Russia-1" that Moscow is not obstructing Ukrainian grain exports, calling such accusations "bluff". It is pertinent to note that international leaders have issued cautionary statements as Russia's months-long blockade of Ukrainian ports raises the risk of a global food crisis and starvation in some regions of the world. 

According to Putin, "This is a bluff. And I will explain why. The world produces about 800 million tons of wheat per year. We are told that Ukraine is ready to export 20 million tons. It's only 2.5%."

(Image: AP/ Pixabay)