US State Department calls destroying Ukrainian fields one of russia’s “heinous tactics”

Destroying Ukrainian fields along with crops is one of russia's "heinous tactics."

The US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated this at a daily briefing.

"Well, unfortunately, this [the Ukrainian field being destroyed by russian shelling] isn't exactly a new reality. It has been one of the heinous tactics that Russia has employed against not only the Ukrainian people but the international community since the earliest days of this conflict. 

We have seen the rise in food prices affect countries not only in the region but countries, in many cases, far afield. In sub-Saharan Africa, in South Asia, in Latin America, in virtually every region of the world, this is being felt. 

It is the practice of burning, of destroying wheat and other fields. It is the practice of attacking grain silos. It is the practice of pursuing Ukraine's farmers and its harvesters. And perhaps most acutely, it's the horrific practice of blockading Ukraine's Black Sea ports," said Price.

Mr. Price added that if the port of Odesa in Ukraine's south were to open, millions of tons of grain could relatively quickly be supplied to the world market.

The State Department spokesperson noted that the United States supported the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to cooperate with Ukraine and Turkey and with the russians, to find a solution to the blockade of the Black Sea.

"Ultimately, the solution can and should be simple. It's for Russia to end its blockade. 

We're supportive of the UN's efforts to advance that ultimate goal, and in the interim, we're working with partners around the world to try to address both the short-term and the longer-term challenges to food security that Russia's invasion—but also longer-term factors, like climate change—have precipitated," Price said.

As Rubryka reported, on July 14, during a meeting between Ukraine, the United Nations, russia, and Turkey in Istanbul, the parties agreed to unblock three Ukrainian ports to export grain, and the Turkish Navy will inspect all vessels.

What's happening with Ukrainian grain?

Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported that the aggressors stole almost half a million tons of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Facts about the crimes have already come from all temporarily occupied regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned consumer countries that consignments of grain sold by russia might contain grain stolen from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine due to looting.

First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotskyi said that the russians tried to sell stolen grain in Egypt and Lebanon, but these countries refused to buy such goods. The Head of the President's Office, Andrii Yermak, stressed that Ukraine was discussing ways to resolve the food crisis with its allies.

Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.