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Cargo ships carrying Ukraine grain are anchored as they wait in line for the inspection on the Marmara sea, Istanbul, on Oct. 22.
Photo:
erdem sahin/Shutterstock
Vladimir Putin
is back using food as a political weapon, as this weekend he withdrew his cooperation with the United Nations’ Black Sea Grain Initiative. This is the agreement that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea to global markets.
Mr. Putin’s excuse is a drone strike this weekend on Russian ships near Sevastopol, the Crimean port that Russia seized by force in 2014. The drone strike presumably was mounted by Ukraine, and the Russian ships are legitimate targets of war. Missiles from Russian ships have targeted Ukrainian civilian and military targets since the war began. But only recently has Ukraine had the weaponry that can target the likes of Sevastopol.
The extent of the damage to the Russian ships isn’t clear, but Mr. Putin may have been looking for an excuse to withdraw from the grain deal in any case. Its main benefit for the Kremlin was preventing Russia from being blamed for food shortages and rising prices around the world, especially in poor countries where starvation is all too possible.
As his forces lose ground in Ukraine, Mr. Putin may think he has more to gain now by adding food to the pressure on Ukraine and Western governments from his war. Food exports are a rare source of income for Kyiv. Russia is already launching sustained missile attacks on electric power plants across Ukraine to increase the hardship as the cold and darkness of winter approach.
Denouncing Mr. Putin isn’t likely to change his mind about the grain initiative. If he insists on a food blockade, the best response is for the U.S. to organize a coalition of the willing to escort grain shipments from Odessa and through the Black Sea. It needn’t be a NATO operation, though the U.S. would have to lead it.
The West could also begin the legal process to confiscate the more than $300 billion in Russian reserves that were frozen by sanctions when the war began.
Robert Zoellick
explained that option in these pages last week. Mr. Putin’s strategy to save his misbegotten war is to pressure Ukraine and the world with the misery of energy and food shortages. The $300 billion could be transferred to help Ukraine get through the winter and then rebuild.
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Appeared in the October 31, 2022, print edition.
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