Ukrainian authorities reported Russian missile attacks all over the country after Moscow accused Kyiv of an attack on its Black Sea fleet and withdrew from a deal that enabled the transportation of food supplies.
A Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain supplies earlier this year led to a global food crisis. Russia and Ukraine are two of the largest food exporters in the world. After Russia declared suspension of cooperation with grain shipments, Chicago wheat futures rose more than 5% on Monday.
The crucial infrastructure of Ukraine has been damaged by yet another round of Russian missiles, according to Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine.
"Don't justify these strikes by calling them a 'response'. Russia does this because it still has the missiles and the determination to kill Ukrainians," the official said as per a report from Reuters.
Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, remarked that missiles had struck energy infrastructure in the capital city of Kyiv and other cities, cutting off power and water to those areas.
The official noted that Russia has no interest in pursuing "peace talks" and "global food security."
"Putin's primary purpose is murder and destruction," he said, as reported by The Independent.
Russia Maintains Attack on Civilian Infrastructure
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said vast sections of the city were left without access to utilities. He reported that local authorities were scrambling to repair a destroyed power plant that provides power to 350,000 units in the metropolis, per ABC News.
Two days ago, Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its Black Sea Fleet of the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine denies the strike, alleging Russia mismanaged its own weaponry, but Moscow halted its involvement in a pact, brokered by the UN, to grant Ukrainian grain ships safe passage amid the Russia Ukraine war.
On Monday, the chief of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, commented on the attacks, saying that the soldiers of Vladimir Putin maintain the strikes on "civilian facilities."
The top-ranking Ukrainian official said that they will make "generations of Russians" pay a "hefty price for their disgrace."
Russia unleashed the largest airstrikes against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this month, claiming that it was in retaliation for a strike on its bridge to Crimea. Ukraine has neither admitted nor denied it was behind the attack.
Russia Accused of Weaponizing Food as Food Crisis Worsens
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia for "blackmailing the world with hunger" by withdrawing from the food export arrangement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
Moscow's cancellation of a contract that allowed Ukraine to ship grain over the Black Sea could deepen a famine crisis in Africa, specialists on Africa and humanitarian groups stated, per The New York Times.
Russia's move on Saturday to halt the grain pact struck by the United Nations and Turkey to reduce global food prices and battle famine has been criticized by Western authorities, who have accused Vladimir Putin of "weaponizing" food.
According to local experts and commodity market analysts, Russia's action could shoot up grain prices in the short term when markets reopen on Monday. This would be particularly detrimental to nations whose governments lack the resources to subsidize basic consumables.
There are severe food shortages affecting tens of millions of people across Africa, and the majority of the world's 19 "hunger hot spots" are located in the continent. Food shortages worsened due to civil wars, weather extremes, and the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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