Russia's War on Food

Putin is driving up food prices to enrich his regime. He said so himself.

Russia burned this wheat field in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine. Credit: Amed Khan

Russia is waging a war on food.

On July 17, Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. Under the deal, Ukraine exported agricultural goods through three key Black Sea ports without fear that Russia would attack civilian cargo ships. The grain deal helped to substantially reduce the cost of wheat around the world, which spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But that is over now — and it is becoming increasingly evident that Russia ended the grain deal as part of a deliberate effort to both cripple Ukraine’s food infrastructure and enrich the regime in Moscow.

After exiting the deal, Moscow threatened to destroy civilian cargo ships in the Black Sea. It also unleashed an onslaught of missile attacks on several Ukrainian ports. This includes Odessa, where critical port infrastructure was damaged. Moscow also bombed grain silos in remote parts of the c…