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‘A REAL WAR CRIME’: High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell told reporters on Monday that the Russian military’s blockade of Ukraine’s exports amounts to a war crime.
Ukraine is the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil, the fourth largest of corn, and the fifth largest of wheat, but the country has been unable to ship agricultural products since the invasion began on Feb. 24.
"One cannot imagine that millions of tonnes of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine, while in the rest of the world, people are suffering hunger," he said. Borrell placed culpability for the growing global hunger crisis at Russia’s feet, adding, "The problem comes from the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain.”
Borrell was in Luxembourg to meet with EU foreign ministers to address the crisis.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke on the crisis during a meeting with the African Union Commission on Monday, in which he said the continent had been “taken hostage by those who started the war against our country.”
“Our main task right now is to eliminate the threat of famine. In the 21st century, this threat simply cannot be, thanks to Ukraine and thanks to our agrarian industry,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the Russia’s war, you would be in a different situation right now – in a totally secure situation. Therefore, to avoid famine, the attempts of countries like Russia to return the colonial policy of landgrabs has to come to an end.”
The United Nations has warned that there could be up to an additional 47 million people facing acute food insecurity as a result of the war. [Read more]
BIDEN BRIEFED ON MISSING AMERICANS: President Joe Biden said on Friday that he was briefed on the three Americans whose locations in Ukraine are unknown.
“I have been briefed. We don’t know where they are,” he said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said they were aware of reports that Alexander Drueke, Andy Huynh, and Grady Kurpasi were missing and are in touch with Ukrainian authorities.
The president, like many officials in his administration, reiterated that Americans should not be traveling to Ukraine, no matter their intentions.
“But I want to reiterate: Americans should not be going to Ukraine now. I’ll say it again: Americans should not be going to Ukraine now,” Biden stated. “They should not be going to Ukraine.”
At the beginning of the war, Ukrainian officials urged citizens living abroad and others to travel back to Ukraine to join their military, while the Kremlin warned in March that it would not treat captured foreigners as prisoners of war.
Three foreign fighters on Ukraine’s side, a Moroccan citizen and two British citizens, captured in the war were sentenced to death by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. The Russian side has opened more than 1,100 cases against Ukrainian soldiers for allegedly committing “crimes against peace," while there is concern from the West about possible trials and charges. [Read more]
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CIVILIAN CASUALTIES MOUNT: There have been more than 10,000 civilian casualties since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the United Nations, though the agency believes the actual number is significantly greater.
More than half of the casualties occurred in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, which are in the east and at the center of the current and prolonged phase of the war.
"The actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration," the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner’s daily disclosure reads.
Nearly 300 children have been killed and more than 450 children hurt, while UNICEF recently reported that 3 million children inside Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance; another 2.2 million who successfully left are in need as well. [Read more]
RUBLE HITS RECENT HIGH: The value of Russia’s currency, the ruble, relative to the U.S. dollar is now at its highest level in seven years despite crushing sanctions the West imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.
The ruble has gone up in part because Russia’s central bank imposed strict capital controls to force the purchase of rubles and limit selling, including requiring Russian exporters to convert a percentage of their excess revenues into rubles, and as a result of oil and gas prices exploding as outflows from Russia have slowed.
“Commodity prices are currently sky-high, and even though there is a drop in the volume of Russian exports due to embargoes and sanctioning, the increase in commodity prices more than compensates for these drops,” said Tatiana Orlova, lead emerging markets economist at Oxford Economics.
The ruble is so strong, in fact, that Russian officials are now trying to weaken it.
“Russia’s central bank is trying to loosen capital controls because it feels the ruble is too strong,” Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, said late last month. “But the central bank is in a rough spot. If they continue loosening, they may open the floodgates of capital flows out of the country.” [Read more]
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Russian ruble now strongest against the dollar in seven years despite sanctions
Washington Examiner: Russian journalist auctions Nobel Peace Prize for displaced Ukrainian children
Washington Examiner: Zelensky: 'Expect greater hostile activity' as Ukraine awaits EU membership decision
Washington Examiner: Ukraine bans Russian books and music
Washington Examiner: Putin speech in Russia delayed over an hour due to cyberattack
Calendar
TUESDAY | JUNE 21
8 a.m. 2401 M St., N.W. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security iDefense Writers Group conversation with Meredith Berger, acting Undersecretary of the Navy/assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and the environment. Email Thom Shanker at [email protected]
1 p.m. 390 Cannon — House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol hearing on "the January 6th Investigation" https://january6th.house.gov/
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee full committee markup of H.R. 7900, the FY2023 NDAA http://www.armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. — House Appropriations Committee markup of the FY2023 Defense Appropriations bill; and the FY2023 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill http://appropriations.house.gov
2:45 p.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: "NATO Enlargement: Examining the Proposed Accession of Sweden and Finland,” with testimony from Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried; and Assistant Defense Secretary of for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander http://foreign.senate.gov
MONDAY | JUNE 27
7 a.m. — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg briefs reporters ahead of the Madrid Summit for heads of state and government https://www.nato.int
TUESDAY | JUNE 28
9:30 a.m. — Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Madrid, Spain, with an opening speech from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg https://www.nato.int
4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies hybrid event: “National Security and Artificial Intelligence: Global Trends and Challenges,” with Paul “PJ” Maykish, senior director of research and analysis for future technology platforms at the Special Competitive Studies Project; David Spirk, former DOD chief data officer; Neil Serebryany, CEO of CalypsoAI; Margaret Palmieri, deputy chief digital and AI officer, Department of Defense; and Jake Harrington, intelligence fellow, International Security Program, CSIS https://www.csis.org/events/national-security-and-artificial-intelligence
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 29
2 a.m. — Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to reporters as he arrives at the Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Madrid, Spain, followed by an opening ceremony at 4 a.m., and an end-of-day briefing by Stoltenberg at 7:45 a.m. (All times eastern) https://www.nato.int
10 a.m. — House Appropriations Committee markup of the FY2023 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill http://appropriations.house.gov
THURSDAY | JUNE 30
6:15 a.m. — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg press conference at the conclusion of the Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Madrid, Spain https://www.nato.int
TUESDAY | JULY 19
Aspen Meadows Resort, Colorado — Aspen Strategy Group three-day (19-22) Aspen Security Forum with Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown; former Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Army Gen. Richard Clarke, commander U.S. Special Operations Command; Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. ambassador to NATO; and others https://www.aspensecurityforum.org
WEDNESDAY | JULY 27
Fort Bragg, N.C. — Association of the U.S. Army two-day, in-person “Warfighter Summit and Exposition,” with Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville; Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston; Alejandro Villanueva, former Army Ranger and former offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens; as well as leaders from Army Forces Command, the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division. Register at https://meetings.ausa.org/warfighter/index.cfm
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"One cannot imagine that millions of tonnes of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger … This is a real war crime."
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High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell blamed Russia for the growing global hunger crisis
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