Ambassador Bush highlights the impact of Russia's war on global
food security and calls on Russia to stop impeding Ukrainian food
production and export.
" Thank you, Mr Chair and thank you to the Mayor of Okhtyrka
for being here today and for your powerful testimony of recent
Russian attacks against his city since the start of the war. The
sad and horrific stories of indiscriminate attacks on civilian
infrastructure and residential areas, including missile strikes,
is hard to hear. You should not have to get used to death. We
express our deepest condolences for all of your citizens and
defenders killed by ruthless Russian fire.
Mr Chair, last week I highlighted
the destruction of Ukrainian cultural property, an attack on
Ukraine’s very identity. Yesterday marked 78 years since the
Soviet Union’s campaign to forcibly deport the entire Tatar
population from their ancestral homeland of Crimea. We remember
the thousands who died due to starvation, disease, abuse and hard
labour.
Today Ukrainians are again facing repression, deportation and
destruction of culture and identity. This is a direct result of
Russia’s illegal actions. Every day we hear more accounts of the
unlawful killing of civilians, of families torn apart, and of
once peaceful towns and villages reduced to rubble. Tens of
thousands have reportedly lost their lives and millions have been
displaced.
Millions more across the globe are at risk, as Russia’s crimes
exacerbate the global economic outlook with sharply rising food
and fuel prices, threatening global food security. I want to
focus the core of my statement on this area. Until 24 February,
Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grains, feeding up to
400 million people worldwide. But because of Russia’s unlawful
actions, including attacks on infrastructure across Ukraine,
naval blockades and looting of grain, the country is now almost
entirely unable to export its produce. Russia is choking off
Ukraine’s grain exports.
Widespread and indiscriminate use of Russian munitions,
generating unexploded ordnance, is killing and maiming
agricultural workers in their fields. There have been multiple
reports of grain being stolen from temporarily Russian-controlled
areas of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk. We have
heard of agricultural equipment and vehicles being destroyed or
looted by Russian forces, jeopardizing the growing seasons. The
World Food Programme has reported that one in three Ukrainian
households are now food insecure. This is unacceptable.
In addition to the disruption of Ukraine’s agriculture, Russia’s
blockage of ports and destruction of infrastructure threatens
global food systems. As we speak, around 25 million tonnes of
grain is being held hostage by Russia, through its blockade of
the Black Sea ports. Even before the war, 55 countries, mostly in
Africa and Asia, were already in acute hunger crises, emergency
or famine conditions. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is
compounding these threats. The loss of grain currently stored in
Odesa could impact up to 43 million people already one-step away
from famine; a sustained Russian stranglehold on Ukraine’s
economy and agricultural output will affect hundreds of millions
well into the future. With 1.7 billion people in over 100
countries now facing food, energy and commodity price rises, the
global impact of Russia’s war is growing.
President Putin continues to demonstrate a callous disregard for
human life. He could end the blockade of the Black Sea ports; he
could release the grain; he could end this bloody conflict and
prevent further death and suffering, but he chooses not to.
The UK remains steadfast in our support for Ukraine. Alongside fellow G7
members, we call on Russia to end its blockade and all other
activities that impede Ukrainian food production and export.
The impact of Russia’s aggression and shameful actions are being
felt by people everywhere, in the OSCE area and beyond. This is
particularly the case for the poorest. We will not standby whilst
the world’s most vulnerable populations suffer at the hands of
Russia. With international
partners, we have secured the largest ever World Bank commitment
to low income countries, releasing $170bn to support nations
faced with economic hardship as a result of Russia’s
invasion. We will work across international fora, such as the
newly created Global Alliance for Food Security, to seek joint
solutions to those problems worsened by an ever-isolated Russia.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the
UK’s clearly established position: the Russian government is
responsible for its actions and Russia’s government will bear the
consequences of its actions. We are unwavering in our support
of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within
its internationally recognised borders. We condemn Russia’s
efforts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity through recognition of the so-called Donetsk and
Luhansk ‘People’s Republics’ as independent, its illegal
annexation of Crimea and its illegal and unprovoked invasion of
Ukraine. We stand by Ukraine."
