The American Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin, denounced on Tuesday that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian ports and their infrastructure destroyed a quantity of grain sufficient to feed 10.5 million people for a year, reports EFE.
Lloyd AustinPhoto: Vano Shlamov / AFP / Profimedia
“In recent months, Russia has continued to attack Ukraine’s ports and its grain infrastructure. To date, these attacks have destroyed at least 280,000 tons of grain, enough to feed 10.5 million people for a year,” Austin said at the beginning of the meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, which is taking place on Tuesday at Ramstein Air Base (Germany).
“Russia’s attacks continue to threaten global food security, increasing the risk of unnecessary humanitarian crises around the world,” the US Secretary of Defense emphasized, adding: “The longer Russia prolongs its war, the more obvious its cruelty becomes.”
“Russia’s aggression went far beyond the battlefield and caused incalculable human suffering,” he said.
Austin urged his counterparts from about 50 countries to continue providing Ukraine with air defense systems, interceptors, ammunition and long-term support.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Air defense saves lives,” Austin emphasized to the heads of defense institutions within the Contact Group, among whom for the first time the new Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov .
He added that these systems “will continue to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including grain export and energy supply.” (Agerpress)
