Famine Is ‘Staring Ukraine in the Mirror,’ Agricultural Minister Says — As Ghost of the Holodomor Lurks on the Battlefields

Ukraine faces a merciless Russian invasion from the north, south, and east. And though a staunch Ukrainian defense has stalled Moscow’s offensive in recent days, a far deadlier foe lurks in the battlefields — famine.Widespread starvation is not an unknown calamity in Ukraine, though there are few alive today who bear witness to one of the world’s great man-made catastrophes. Ninety years ago, Stalin’s forced collectivization plans coupled with Soviet expropriation of Ukrainian crop yields plunged millions in Eastern Europe into starvation on a scale rarely seen in world history.Victim estimates from the famine that occurred between 1932 and 1933 range between 3 million and 10 million, most of whom were Ukrainian. In Ukraine, the famine is known as the Holodomor, a word that derives from the Ukrainian words for hunger and extermination.Ukraine’s rich black earth is famously fertile. During tsarist times, present-day Ukraine was known as the breadbasket of the Russian empire, a moniker that survived the Soviet imperium and is used today.In an interview, Ukraine’s agriculture minister, Roman Leshchenko, told the Sun that today’s Russian offensive echoes the previous century’s anti-Ukrainian agricultural policies and is a direct assault on Ukraine’s food security.The Holodomor “is staring [Ukraine] in the mirror right now,” Mr. Leshchenko said, adding that today, Ukraine is dealing with “a blockade, starvation, hundreds of farmers without any opportunity to survive.”The parallels between the famine in the early 1930s and today are stark. “The technologies and the political issues” between the Holodomor and the present-day situation “are the same,” Mr. Leshchenko explained.He added that “by killing people, by destroying cities, by creating conditions with the blockade [of Ukrainian ports],” Russia will leave Ukrainians “without any opportunity to buy bread.”For Ukrainians, “bread is something holy, sowing is a symbol of life,” Mr. Leshchenko explained. “You cannot imagine what it means for Ukrainians who survived two world wars and a famine,” he added, calling the looming crisis “a different front, a food front.”The agriculture minister added that Ukraine is sitting on significant reserves of basic food staples, including sunflower seed oil, corn, and wheat. However, it was not immediately clear where those food caches are located.Much of Ukraine’s most productive regions are east of the Dnieper River that bisects the country along its north-south axis. Many of Russia’s invasion forces are assembled in Ukraine’s east and could jeopardize foodstuffs stored in those regions.The Russian offensive threatens the food security of other nations as well. Many countries in the Middle East and Africa — including Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Egypt — are reliant on wheat from Ukraine and Russia.A dearth of Ukrainian grain could have a knock-on effect on Europe’s dairy and meat farmers, too. Both industries rely heavily on Ukrainian corn, used as livestock feed.When asked about what the worst-case scenario would look like, Mr. Leshchenko spoke frankly. Many countries that rely on imported Ukrainian cereals could face severe shortages, even “starvation.”Ukraine’s few remaining ports will play a decisive role in averting a shortage of foodstuffs for the wider world. The crux of the issue will be delivery.And despite rising global inflation, Mr. Leshchenko pointed out that countries would not be priced out of access to grain. Countries “might have money” to buy Ukrainian wheat and corn, but “they won’t have access” without a port.He estimates 80 percent of Ukraine’s grain exports are sent from ports along the Black Sea via ship to destinations worldwide. Therefore, Kiev’s top priority is uninterrupted access to those Black Sea ports.Mr. Leshchenko said that Ukraine must first “solve the peace to feed the people.”

Famine Is ‘Staring Ukraine in the Mirror,’ Agricultural Minister Says — As Ghost of the Holodomor Lurks on the Battlefields

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