Kuleba on Russia's exit from grain deal: Stop playing "hunger games"

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this on CBS, Ukrinform reports.

"You have to know one number. Last year, when the Black Sea Grain Initiative was introduced, grain prices in the world dropped by 20%. So, the immediate outcome of not extension of the agreement will mean that prices for grain all across the globe will go up. And people in the most vulnerable regions of Asia and Africa will feel it. And this will be the result of Russia's actions," Kuleba said.

Kuleba called on Russia to stop playing "hunger games" with people around the world.

"It is impossible to fully compensate for the blockade of Ukrainian ports by inland land routes. Russia is using hunger as an instrument to blackmail the world, pursuing its own commercial interests. Stop playing hunger games," Kuleba said.

As Ukrinform reported, on Monday, the Russian side sent its objections to Turkey, Ukraine and the UN regarding the extension of the "grain deal" and de facto terminated it.

The last vessel under the UN-brokered deal, which allows for the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, left the port of Odesa on the morning of Sunday, July 16.

The Black Sea Grain Deal was signed in July 2022. Two documents were signed for this purpose: one with the participation of the UN, Turkey, and Ukraine, and a separate one by the UN, Turkey, and Russia.

Photo: Dmytro Kuleba/Facebook