GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 8th Aug. UN deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq on Monday told reporters in a regular briefing in New York that attacks against Ukrainian port infrastructure are not isolated and with Russia’s termination of the Black Sea Initiative are impacting global food prices and affecting the most vulnerable people.
Mr. Haq noted the Danube port of Izmail in the Odesa Region, was hit on 2 August. The attack damaged facilities storing thousands of tons of food grains.
He said “The Secretary-General also condemned Russia’s intensification of attacks on Ukrainian ports, calling for the immediate cessation of all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine”.
Deputy spokesman stressed that the Black Sea Initiative enabled the export of millions of metric tons of food from Ukrainian ports and with the UN’s parallel accord with Russia on export of food and fertilizer had been vital for global food security and price stability, including in areas hit hard by conflict and hunger, such as Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
Denise Brown, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine visited Izmail port on Saturday, three days after the attack.
She said “The thousands of tons of grains that were damaged would have been enough to feed approximately 66 million people for a day.”
“Relentless attacks by Russian forces on grain stores and port infrastructure in Ukraine form an extremely alarming pattern of harm and may constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” she added.
Mr. Haq said that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs voiced alarm about the plight of civilians facing a dire situation in Ukraine as the intensification of attacks affecting critical civilian infrastructure in the country will likely worsen the humanitarian needs.
According to OCHA the $3.9 billion Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023, launched earlier this year to reach some 11.1 million people across Ukraine with assistance.
It added only 30 percentfunded impacting humanitarians’ efforts provide aid to those in need.
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