Local resident Lubov, 71, receives goods during a food aid distribution in the village of Lymany, Mykolaiv region, on Jan. 28, 2023, amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Genya Savilov | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The top spy agency in America reports that Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted global food security, leading to higher prices and political instability in vulnerable countries around the world.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which oversees the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, warns that sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen are particularly at risk of political instability due to food insecurity.
“The combination of high domestic food prices and significant levels of sovereign debt in many countries, primarily caused by spending and the recessionary effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, has weakened the ability of countries to address the increased risks of food insecurity,” stated the ODNI assessment.
The intelligence group also noted that the war has contributed to a “sudden and drastic increase in the prices of agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers and fuel.”
In an 8-page report mandated by Congress, the unclassified document states that Russian forces have stolen approximately 6 million tons of Ukrainian wheat, likely for export. The Kremlin has previously denied any targeting of civilian infrastructure or engaging in looting.
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow accounted for nearly a quarter of global grain exports.
According to data compiled by the United Nations, the two countries exported approximately 34% of the world’s wheat, 17% of corn, and over 70% of sunflower oil.
These exports came to a halt for almost six months until Ukraine, Russia, the U.N., and Turkey agreed to establish a humanitarian sea corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. This deal, brokered in July, eased Russia’s naval blockade and reopened three crucial Ukrainian ports.
For nearly a year, more than 1,000 ships carrying nearly 33 million metric tons of agricultural products departed from Ukraine’s war-torn ports. However, Russia withdrew from the agreement last month.
A worker stands on top of a pile of wheat grain in a storage granary at Aranka Malom kft mill in Bicske, Hungary on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. The Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to ship more than 30 million tons of produce from three major ports, helping to bring down global food prices after they spiked following Russia’s invasion.
Akos Stiller | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced earlier this month that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a potential return to the Black Sea grain deal. Peskov stated that the two leaders would meet “soon” but did not provide an exact timeline.
Furthermore, China, one of Moscow’s strategic allies and the world’s second-largest economy, emerged as the primary recipient of Ukrainian agricultural products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, expressed the positive impact of the Black Sea grain deal on maintaining global food security. He called for the immediate resumption of Ukrainian agriculture exports and Russian fertilizer products during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Aug. 3 chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
