Putin’s War Threatens Ukraine, Russia, and the Middle East with Hunger, El Murid Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 5 – Anatoly Nesmiyan, who blogs under the screen name “El Murid,” says that the war in Ukraine will likely lead to a serious decline in the production of food stuffs that not only Russia and Ukraine depend on but that countries of the Middle East and North Africa do as well. And there is a risk that the third horse of the apocalypse will appear – hunger.

            “Russia and Ukraine,” he points out, “are the most important suppliers of grain to the Middle East and North Africa.” They provide approximately 85 percent of Egypt’s needs and half of the needs of these two super regions as well, according to the World Food Program (publizist.ru/blogs/113683/42258/-).

            If Russia and Ukraine aren’t able to bring in a full harvest, they won’t be able to ship grain to others who will either have to purchase it elsewhere or go without. Prices will rise and many of the countries may not be able to afford them. Moreover, it may be that Russia and Ukraine will each have to use a greater share of the smaller harvest to feed their own peoples.

            This threat, Nesmiyan says, must not not be ignored. It is just one of the more serious longer-term costs of the Russian invasion. Planning for coping with these war-induced shortages is critical and should involve many countries working through the World Food Program of the United Nations, he concludes.