‘They’re burning our crops on purpose’: Ukraine says Russia deliberately torching grain fields

Authored by france24.com and submitted by fififilip
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Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of deliberately destroying the wheat crops that farmers have managed to grow this year. Amid a looming global food crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains Moscow is ready to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports by the Black Sea. But Ukrainian farmers watching their burning fields have little confidence in Putin’s promises.

More than a week after Viktor Hubanet's grain fields were torched in a Russian strike, the Ukrainian farmer surveys the singed bare earth that once had crops getting ready for a harvest.

"Look you can still see the rockets, one over there, two, three, four," he said, pointing to ordnance in his burned fields. "We've lost around 500 tonnes [of grain]. At last year's prices that's about 130,000 euros."

NASA satellite imagery shows 22% of Ukraine's farmland has been taken over by Russian forces. Amid a impending global food crisis, Ukrainian farmers says Russia is deliberately destroying their crops.

Click on video player above to watch FRANCE 24's report from Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

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Moonhunter7 on July 20th, 2022 at 13:24 UTC »

Ukraine won’t starve. However, every other country they sold wheat to is going to. Especially all those poorer countries that relied on Ukrainian wheat to survive. African and Asian famine will only get worse, and Putin is to blame.

rabid- on July 20th, 2022 at 07:53 UTC »

If you can't win with superior fire power, you resort to just fire. Scorched earth and starvation. Called that shit months ago.

top_of_the_stairs on July 20th, 2022 at 06:39 UTC »

Putin's such a petty psycho bully