President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that his country is ready to ensure that Ghana and other African countries have the food supply they need.
Speaking for the first time to the media in Africa since the Russia-Ukraine war began, Zelenskyy said that, unlike Russia, Ukraine will never block the supply of food to Africa.
He added that African countries should not be afraid of backing Ukraine in the ongoing war because Russia is not interested in Africa as it pretends to be.
“… I’d like to point out that Russia invests in total less than 1% of all investments in the African continent. Russia does not invest in you as in countries, nations or societies. This means that Russia does not believe in you. All Russian investments are just political. Russia comes to you, tells you that they are a great state, the heir of the Soviet Union, tells: “we need to expand our ties.” But what is all this about?
“Please look at agriculture and food products. Did Ukraine block the supply of food products to the African continent from the Russian Federation? Did we raise the issue of preventing bread and wheat from reaching Africa from Russia? Never. We fight them with other sanctions. And what did they do? On the contrary, they did block. Both Russia and Ukraine sell grain products to African countries. We do not block agricultural exports from Russia, but they have blocked our ports with force and weapons. They support famine… we are ready to guarantee food security for the African continent, while we do not ask to exclude supplies from Russia. It’s your choice.
“… what did they contribute since their arrivals to the African continent all these years? One cannot say that Russia has paid much attention to the African continent since the Soviet Union. This is not true. There were many states in the Soviet Union, which today, like the countries of Africa, see their independence and conduct their relations with various independent states of the African continent,” he said.
President Zelenskyy also said that if Africa supports Ukraine in the ongoing war then it is supporting the truth.
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2024, with the claim that it was going on a military exercise to denuclearize and denazify Ukraine.
Aside from the African Content, much of the international community has heavily condemned Russia for its actions in Ukraine, with any countries imposing economic sanctions against Russia, Russian individuals, or companies.
According to the Office of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) about 11,544 civilian casualties have been recorded with 5,024 killed and 6,520 injured since the war began.
Reports also indicate that more than 6.4 million Ukrainians have fled their country to other countries in Europe while some 8 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced.
