Ukraine says attacks escalating, as Russia-EU tensions rise: AFP

World

Published: 2022-06-21 13:50

Last Updated: 2024-03-26 12:22


Ukraine says attacks escalating, as Russia-EU tensions rise: AFP
Ukraine says attacks escalating, as Russia-EU tensions rise: AFP

Russia's blockade of Ukrainian grain exports sparked fresh tensions with Europe as fears grow of a global food crisis, while Kyiv accused Moscow of stepping up attacks in the east of the country, according to AFP.

In New York, Dmitry Muratov, the Russian editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize gold medal for $103.5 million to benefit children displaced by the war.

Since being repelled from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine following the February military operation, Moscow is focusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region.

Its navy is blockading ports, which Ukraine says is preventing millions of tonnes of grain from being shipped to world markets, contributing to soaring food prices.

Prior to the war, Ukraine was a major exporter of wheat, corn and sunflower oil.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the Russian blockade "a real war crime," which was happening "while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger."

Moscow denies responsibility for the disruption to deliveries and, following Borrell's comments, took aim at the "destructive" stance of the West for surging grain prices.

Growing concerns about a food crisis are "the fault of Western regimes, which act as provokers and destroyers", said foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was engaged in "complex negotiations" to unblock grain exports, although he cautioned that there was no progress as yet.

In an address to the African Union, he also warned that the continent was a "hostage" of the conflict, and rising food prices "have already brought (the war) to the homes of millions of African families."