Md. Ashraful Islam: Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister has accused Russian forces of stealing “millions of tons” of grain from occupied territories.
Speaking on state television in Ukraine on Saturday, Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Wiesowski made the allegations, according to Reuters.
He claimed that most of these grains were taken from 1.5 million tons of grain stored in the occupied territories of Russia. Wisowski also said he feared Russian forces could steal the rest of the crop.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Thursday accused Russia of stealing grain in the occupied territories. The ministry alleges that Russia’s actions pose a growing threat to global food security.
After Russian forces failed to capture the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, they are now focusing on the east and south of the country. Many Ukrainian cities have been devastated by the nine-week war, with thousands killed and more than 5 million fleeing the country.
Troops from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and the eastern port city of Mariupol have been captured by Moscow. However, they have not yet taken control of a huge steel factory in Mariupol, where thousands of Ukrainian military, civilian, and wounded soldiers are trapped.
According to the BBC, fighting continues in the eastern part of Ukraine. Russia is trying to complete the occupation of Rubiezna and Popasna in the Luhansk region of Donbas.
Russia’s military says it is deploying new troops around the town of Izhum, a major battlefield in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Russia says it has fired missiles at several Ukrainian military installations on Friday night. They also claimed that there were weapons and fuel depots in these installations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that their “special military operation in Ukraine” is proceeding according to plan.
