Ernst and Ukrainian Civil Society members detail effect of Russia’s war on food security

(ABC 6 News) – Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined members of the Ukrainian Civil Society Wednesday to discuss the war in Ukraine’s impact on food insecurity.

Ernst, joined by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), called attention to the impact of the war on farmers’ livelihoods and food exports from both Ukraine and Russia.

Ernst said high-priced food will impact developing companies that rely on staple crop imports, as well as Ukrainian farmers’ livelihood.
“Russia is using food as what we call a ‘quiet weapon,’” Ernst said. “And they are targeting agriculture.”

Ernst said the “best and quickest way to address the food security crisis is for Ukraine to win the war.”

She restated her support for Ukraine to receive more weapons and equipment from the U.S. and NATO.

Dr. Hanna Hopko, a Ukrainian Civil Society member, said Ukraine’s exports feed around 400 million people in Africa and the Middle East – on top of providing for the country’s citizens.

Hopko presented photos of artillery and military rockets found in Ukrainian farmland.

The planting season has begun, she added, but Russian warfare threatens farms, fuel storage, and impact/export lines.

“We are now a bread-basket of Europe, of the world, and this is the way of punishment from (Putin’s) regime to kill all (the) Ukrainian nation,” Hopko said.

Hopko and her fellow Ukrainian citizens called for more aid from the United States and European nations.