Russia’s missile strikes on Ukrainian ports hurt global food security, UN says

Russia’s suspension of its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and threats to shipping are driving up food prices around the world, exacerbating the energy and financial crises.

“We are now witnessing yet another blow to global food security as Russia has attacked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Mykolaiv with missiles and drones for the fourth consecutive day, destroying critical port infrastructure and grain stocks,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said at a Security Council meeting.

Ms. DiCarlo reminded that these attacks have resulted in civilian casualties.

Threats to attack civilian vessels in the Black Sea are unacceptable, she emphasized.

At the same time, according to DiCarlo, “attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are not a new trend in this conflict, but rather its tragic pattern.”

DiCarlo noted that the WHO has documented damage to more than a thousand medical facilities, resulting in 101 deaths and 139 injuries.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UNESCO has confirmed damage to 270 cultural sites, including 116 religious sites, 27 museums, 95 buildings of historical significance, 90 monuments, 12 libraries and one archive.

In addition, 3,467 educational institutions were damaged by bombardment and shelling, and 335 of them were destroyed.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, 12 journalists and media workers have been killed.

According to DiCarlo, the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam will have far-reaching environmental and humanitarian consequences. Thus, after the dam’s destruction, almost 600 thousand hectares of agricultural land will no longer have access to irrigation, which will exacerbate the food crisis in the world.

Tags: UN, war