In order to avert a global famine, Chancellor Scholz pledged further support as part of the "Grain from Ukraine" initiative. In a video statement he explains: Germany is providing 15 million euros for deliveries. The promise comes on a historic day.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that he will increase support for Ukrainian grain exports. In coordination with the World Food Program, Germany will provide an additional 15 million euros for further grain deliveries from Ukraine, Scholz said in a video message. A World Food Program ship sponsored by Germany is currently on its way to bring Ukrainian grain to Ethiopia. The video message was published on the occasion of the new initiative "Grain from Ukraine".
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had invited the Chancellor to the opening ceremony of the initiative on Saturday in Kyiv, as a German government spokeswoman said. The topic is global food security. The aim of the initiative is to get Ukrainian grain donations through the Black Sea Corridor to developing countries. The launch of the new initiative comes on the day Ukraine commemorates the famine caused by the Soviet leadership - the so-called Holodomor - in the country 90 years ago. The Ukrainian term means killing through hunger and refers to the years 1932 and 1933. At that time, the Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin had triggered a great famine by forced collectivization of agriculture, from which several million people died in Ukraine.
Several European politicians arrived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Saturday, including Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who announced his arrival on Twitter. According to the Ukrainian border guard, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also visited Kyiv and commemorated the victims of the Holodomor. The Ukrainians had "been through a terrible thing," said Ukrainian President Selenskyj in a video on the online networks. He referred to the destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure by Russian attacks: "Once they wanted to destroy us with hunger, now - with darkness and cold." He added: "We cannot be broken."
In Germany, the coalition factions and the Union faction in the Bundestag want to recognize the Holodomor as genocide in a resolution. According to information, a vote in the Bundestag is planned for next Wednesday. In his video message to commemorate the Holodomor, Scholz said that hunger should never again be used as a weapon. Therefore, the current food crisis, which according to Scholz is the worst in years, should not be accepted. Millions of people are affected. Russia has exacerbated the situation with the attack on agriculture in Ukraine and the month-long blockade of Black Sea ports, said the Chancellor. Russia's "cynical" warfare is unacceptable.
Scholz also said Germany welcomes the United Nations' successful efforts to expand the Grains Agreement. The world is watching very closely whether Russia is fulfilling its obligations. The Grains Agreement between Ukraine and Russia, signed in July, aims to allow Ukrainian grain to be safely exported through a protective corridor in the Black Sea and Russian food and fertilizers to be exported despite the war. Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world.
