Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the Russian blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports could result in millions of civilians starving to death.
In his chilling warning, Zelensky said the world is “on the brink of a terrible food crisis” after Russia seized large parts of Ukraine’s coast, blocking farm exports through its seaports and ramping up the cost of grain.
“This means that, unfortunately, there may be a physical shortage of products in dozens of countries around the world,” he said in a televised address at TIME100 Gala 2022 in New York on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian leader said his country is struggling to export wheat, corn, vegetables, and oil among other products that once played a “stabilizing role in the global market” before Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24.
Blaming Russia for the blockade, Zelensky said “while we are looking for ways to protect freedom, another person is destroying it. Another person continues to blackmail the world with hunger.”
“Millions of people may starve if the Russian blockade of the Black Sea continues,” he added.
While Zelensky and the West accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of weaponizing food supplies, Russia points the blame toward international sanctions on the Kremlin.
Elsewhere in his address, Zelensky — who was included on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2022 — said he was grateful to US President Joe Biden for “uniting the free world when the Russian threat arose.”
It comes as Zelensky recently said the Kremlin is not “serious” about negotiation efforts to end the war — and blasted Putin as living in an “alternative reality.”
Speaking through a translator, Zelensky told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that his early optimism about the negotiations has stalled.
“I can’t see their willingness, nor can I see any practicality in what we are talking about,” Zelensky said, adding that he wants to speak with Putin directly.