40 million people will face food shortages due to war in Ukraine

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would cause 40 million people to face food shortages and that sub-Saharan Africa would suffer the most.

At the recent G7 summit, the United States pledged $4.5 billion for food security around the world, with $2.76 billion already committed to date.

In addition, the U.S. plans to provide $150 million in humanitarian aid to Africa, a measure that must be approved by Congress, Thomas-Greenfield added.

Most African governments do not want to take sides in the European conflict and refuse to join Western sanctions against Russia or condemn the Kremlin’s actions.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Africans “do not want to be pressured to choose sides” in the current recurrence of the Cold War, but African countries “need to know the facts.

While energy, climate change, pandemics and armed conflict are the main causes of global food supply problems, Thomas-Greenfield noted that “the most insidious cause of hunger” is “its use as a military tool.”

“Russia is systematically taking over some of Ukraine’s most fertile farmland, destroying the soil with mines and bombs,” Thomas-Greenfield said. – Regardless of how you feel about Russia, we all have a common interest in mitigating the impact of the war in Ukraine on food security.”

French President Emmanuel Macron used similar language last week when, during a visit to Cameroon, he called the global food crisis one of Russia’s “weapons of war.

Moscow denies responsibility for the food crisis and blames Western sanctions for slowing food and fertilizer exports.

Thomas-Greenfield refuted this claim, instead suggesting that Russia deliberately took steps to disrupt global food supply chains while blaming the West.