The world can stave off Putin’s food fight (Washington Post)  

Washington Post published an article on how Russian forces have bombed grain silos and farms and plundered Ukrainian wheat. Putin is attempting to blackmail the West into lifting punitive measures, and that’s to be expected. But more worrying is the Kremlin’s amplification of the lie that rich nations are meddling and punishing with no concern for the poorest. There’s the need, as much for Ukraine as for world markets, to free the millions of metric tons of grain trapped in the country. Vital efforts to use land routes and to unblock the ports are underway. Senior research fellow David Laborde points out, land routes are slow and costly, while the maritime alternative is complex, not least given the risk that any escalation there would endanger other Black Sea routes still working. The point, as he argues, cannot be to get the grain out at any cost — if there are more effective ways to support buyers and Ukrainians.