Ninety years ago, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the young Soviet Union, sought to intensify food production in Ukraine, the country’s breadbasket, to meet an unreasonably optimistic 5-year plan, while at the same time consolidating his grip on the independent-minded Ukrainians. Small-holder farms were collectivized. Moscow also set draconian policies such as exorbitant grain quotas to be delivered to state granaries. Squads of officials ransacked farms looking for hidden food and took it all. And although this was just one of many reasons for the deadly famine of the early 1930s, the Holodomor, or death by starvation that killed millions of Ukrainians between February and July 1932, was deliberately engineered in order to decimate and subjugate the population to the Soviet regime.
Today, history is repeating itself. Putin, has taken the Holodomor as inspiration, said United States Representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield:
“Like Stalin, Putin has used food as a weapon of war. And like Stalin, Putin has inflicted hunger and death on Ukraine.”
“And let’s be clear: Russia is not only waging war on Ukraine’s people and food supply. It is also waging war on vulnerable people around the world who rely on Ukraine’s food exports,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“We know that Russia has exacerbated global food insecurity. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine was one of the top agricultural producers and exporters. But Ukraine’s wheat production is 35 percent lower than pre-war levels. Why? Because Russia has stolen Ukrainian grain, sabotaged farmlands, and bombarded Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure and port cities,” she said.
“Despite these relentless attacks the Ukrainian people have stood strong. And they continue to be a beacon of hope to the world’s most vulnerable. Ukrainian farmers continue to harvest crops even in the face of grave danger,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“We must not let Russia trample on the UN Charter. We must not let Russia carry out war crimes with impunity. And we must not let Russia continue to weaponize food and inflict so much pain and suffering on Ukraine by attacking Ukraine’s critical infrastructure as the cold, dark winter approaches,” she said.
“Let us all stand with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes. Until families are reunited. Until children can go back to school and people can return home. And until a just and comprehensive peace, in accordance with the UN Charter, is secured.”
