Russia’s torching of wheat fields in Ukraine may not disrupt global supplies as much as Putin hopes (Forbes)

Forbes published an article stating that on Sunday Blinken said, “President Putin is stopping food from being shipped and aggressively using his propaganda machine to deflect or distort responsibility because he hopes it’ll get the world to give in to him and end the sanctions… In other words, quite simply put, it’s blackmail.” Russia’s naval control of the Black Sea – and it’s on-again, off-again hold on Snake Island – has thwarted Ukrainian wheat exports. According to senior research fellow Joseph Glauber, Ukraine has only been able to export 1.5 million to 2 million tons of grain a month since the beginning of the war, down from more than 6 million tons a month previously. The blockade goes on as does the apparent burning of Ukrainian wheat. But if this year’s Russian and Western harvests prove to be bountiful, Putin’s leverage using food supplies may not be as strong as he’s hoped and the global backlash will surely be stronger. Republished in Tekedia.