Apparently, the Russian UN Ambassador can’t stand the heat…
Vassily Nebenzia is Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, and he recently marched out of a Security Council meeting. He became irritated after the European Council President, Charles Michel, accused Russia of engineering a food crisis while at war with Ukraine.
Michel said that “Russia alone” was responsible for the food crisis while addressing his words directly at Nebenzia. He said, “Mr. Ambassador of the Russian Federation, let’s be honest, the Kremlin is using food supplies as a stealth missile against developing countries. The dramatic consequences of Russia’s war are spilling over across the globe This is driving up food prices, pushing people into poverty, and destabilizing entire regions.”
The Russian Ambassador promptly got up to leave the room and Michel kept on him and called out after him saying that he could leave the room because it was easier not to “listen to the truth, dear Ambassador.”
After leaving the Security Council chamber, Nebenzia was visibly angry. He told the press that he could not stay in the room because of the lies that the European Council President was telling the rest of the Security Council.
This is not the first time that the nation of Russia accused the United Nations of telling lies to the world. The world organization has maintained a position that Moscow has led a campaign of disinformation.
After Nebenzia left the room, Michel told the Security Council of his personal experience in Odesa. He said that he witnessed millions of tons of grain and wheat held up in containers and ships because of Russian warships in the Black Sea. He also said that the supply was left there because of the Russian attacks on the infrastructure of transportation.
Michel said, “It is Russia’s tanks, bombs, and mines that are preventing Ukraine from planting and harvesting. The Kremlin is also targeting grain storage and stealing grain from areas it has occupied while shifting the blame on others. This is cowardly. This is propaganda. Pure and simple propaganda.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there has been a major change in the global wheat market. Just since February, the month Russia began the war, the price of grains has soared. This has also been true for products like cooking oil, fuel, and fertilizer.
Before the war, Ukraine and Russia accounted for a third of all global wheat and barley exports. Just in Ukraine, they exported 4.5 million tons of products that they grew a month. Ukraine was responsible for supplying 12% of the world’s wheat, 15% of corn, and 50% of the sunflower oil for the world.
But after Russia invaded Ukraine, the ports have been blocked and much of the farming infrastructure has been destroyed. This has caused trade to end.
According to the United Nations, almost 25 million tons of grain were stuck in Ukraine because it could not leave the country due to the seaports and destroyed infrastructure.
Josef Schmidhuber, the deputy director of FAO – the UN’s food agency, called the situation with the demolished infrastructure and blocked seaports “grotesque.”
The effect of Russia’s aggression has been felt worldwide, but it has been felt significantly by lower-income countries. Secretary-General António Guterres of the United Nations said in May that the Ukraine-related shortages could “tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity.”
He also described how the war could cause a malnutrition and famine crisis that could last for years. This could result in a global recession.
Even with all this information, there have yet to be any agricultural sanctions against Russia.
So, the only real effect on Russia is the words spoken that caused the Ambassador to walk away in a huff.
