Russia has sent shipments of free grain to six African nations

In a statement posted on the social media platform Telegram, Dimtry Patrushev has stated that ships were already on their way to the ports of Burkina Faso in Somalia and that more ships were soon to be heading to Eritrea, Mali, Zimbabwe and the Central African Republic.

President Putin had made the promise for Russia to deliver grain to the six African nations at a summit with African leaders in July. It was around this time that Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea grain initiative with Ukraine, a deal which had helped to lower the global prices of grain.

However, in 2022 Russia has exported around 60 million t of grain, according to President Putin. UN Chief Antonio Guterres called the promise of free grain from Russia, “a handful of donations.”

Since leaving the Black Sea grain deal Russia has been repeatedly bombing Ukrainian ports and grain storage facilities with the bulk carrier KMAX Ruler having been struck by a missile resulting in one fatality.

For the original article from Reuters click here.

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