Disinfo: Ukraine sells its grain to pay for weapons

Summary

For a while [Ukraine was transporting grain] along the Danube to Romania. There, the goods are transferred to sea vessels, and then they are transported to the EU. "As far as we understand, Ukraine is paying for the weapons supplied by the West," said Vasyl Nebenzya, Russia's envoy to the UN.

[...]

The G7 accuses Russia of the crisis in the food markets - allegedly it interferes with agricultural exports from Ukraine and does not let vessels with food through. And as a result, prices skyrocket.

Kyiv continues to block 75 foreign ships from 17 states in the ports of Nikolaev, Kherson, Chernomorsk, Mariupol, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhny, Vasily Nebenzya claims. According to him, it was Ukraine that mined the water area.

Russia has repeatedly offered Ukraine to send goods through humanitarian corridors. But Kyiv does not cooperate, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier.

Disproof

A New pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine, aiming to shift the blame for the growing global food insecurity and price raise on Ukraine.

Ukraine is one of the world’s top agricultural producers and exporters. Before the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, most of the food produced by Ukraine – enough to feed 400 million people – was exported through the country’s seven Black Sea ports, according to an estimate from the World Food Programme.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destabilised global food markets and is driving food prices up due to increased cost of production, transport and freight insurance. Russia has destroyed substantial food stocks, production, as well as processing and transport capacities in Ukraine.

Russian warships block Black Sea trade routes, which prevent the export of Ukrainian grain.

Since Ukraine’s sea ports have been blocked since the Russian invasion, Ukraine has been forced to export grain by train via its western border or via its small Danube river ports into Romania. It has sent around 80,000 tones of grains to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, as of April 26, 2022.

The claim that Ukraine allegedly is blocking international ships in the black sea has been debunked by the Ukrainian factchecers.

Multiple countries around the world support Ukraine's defense against Russia' military aggression with delioveries of weapons, ammunition and non-lethal military equipment, including multiple NATO allies, Australia, Japan, and others. There is no basis to claim that by exporting grain, in the conditions of Russian naval blockade, Ukraine is paying for the weapons deliveries.

See related disinformation claim alleging that US, Canada, Switzerland to blame for surge in food and energy prices due to illegal sanctions on Russia.

Read more disinformation cases about Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine.

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RIA (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 291
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/05/2022
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: War in Ukraine, food
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