The United States Government have decried a fresh report that states that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has started using the weaponisation of food as a winning agenda in the war with Ukraine.
UD National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that Putin “absolutely has weaponized food.”
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He, however, said the Biden administration and partner nations are working to overcome an export blockade that is causing a global food shortage.
“It absolutely, has weaponized food – Mr. Putin has weaponized food,” he told CNN.
He acknowledged that Putin’s administration’s export blockade, “is going to have a global impact.”
“We’re going to feel some of that probably here as well, which is why we’re working so hard on trying to find out find alternative routes to get some of that grain out,” he said.
In another report, it has been revealed that despite US sanctions, Russia’s oil revenues have increased 50 percent per month since the beginning of 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.
From the first day of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Western alliance imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow to cripple its global finances and force the Kremlin to stop its onslaught over Kiev.
But both global data and US officials admit that four months after the Russian offensive, Moscow’s revenues from its fossil fuels have not reduced but increased. Russia is generating significantly more revenues from its oil-gas sales than the period prior to its military action against Ukraine.
In contrast to the desires of the US and its allies, Moscow’s oil profits have climbed by 50 percent since the beginning of this year, reaching $20 billion a month, according to the International Energy Agency. Despite US sanctions, the EU still figures as one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas, the data indicates.
Another hard fact for the US officials to reckon with is the Russian fossil fuels revenues showing perpetual growth, a worrying sign for Washington which wants to punish Moscow for its Ukraine offensive.