Quarter of agricultural land lost and Zelensky wants Crimea back in Ukrainian hands | Abroad

The decrease is not only because there is fighting in the country, but also because Russia is blocking exports. As a result, farmers grow less export-oriented crops and opt for less demanding crops such as soybeans. Expensive maize cultivation has fallen from 5.5 million hectares in 2021 to 4.6 million hectares now.

Visotsky did not release any numbers on grain. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters and many countries depend on the production of the crop in Ukraine for food security. There are still millions of tons of grain in storehouses in the east of the country and in grain silos in the port of Odessa. Because the port of Odessa is blocked, it can’t leave there. Earlier attempts by Turkey, among others, to lift the Russian blockade of the ports in the Black Sea, came to nothing. In addition, Ukraine does not want to remove the sea mines in the port area of ​​Odessa for fear of a Russian attack.

Pro-Russian separatists say four people were killed and 22 injured yesterday in Donetsk, the capital of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian army allegedly fired on the city. A child would also be among the dead, the separatists said. All victims were civilians.

The Ukrainian shelling was said to have been “of unprecedented power, intensity and duration”. In two hours, “nearly 300 rockets and grenades” were fired at various residential areas, the separatists said. A maternity hospital in Donetsk is also said to have been affected. Photos of broken windows and pregnant women taking refuge in a hallway suggest the damage was mostly material. In any case, no casualties were reported.

Donetsk is one of two pro-Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine whose independence is not recognized by the international community, but is recognized by Russia. Yesterday, an AFP reporter present in Donetsk heard five explosions there. The Ukrainian military has not confirmed the attacks.

Eastern Ukraine is at the forefront of the battle between the forces of Kiev versus Moscow and their separatist allies. The fiercest fighting is currently in the city of Shevyerodonetsk, about 150 kilometers north of Donetsk. The Russian army also destroyed the third and final bridge to Shevyerodonetsk. According to the governor of the eastern Luhansk region, where Shevyerodonetsk is located, it is no longer possible to evacuate civilians or bring goods to the city.

The governor says there is still an access road, but does not say where it is. According to him, part of the city is still in Ukrainian hands. Russia has most of it under control, the Ukrainian army was driven from the center of the city yesterday.

The capture of the city is seen by Russia as crucial to the plans in eastern Ukraine. Shevyerodonetsk and Lisichiansk, which lies next to it, are the last two cities in the region not yet in Russian hands.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky says the battle for the Donbas will go down in the books as one of the most brutal in European history. “For us, the price of this battle is very high. It’s just scary,” Zelenski said in his daily video message. His adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that the battle against the Russians can only be won if more heavy weapons are supplied from the West. The government’s wish list includes hundreds of tanks, howitzers and drones. The European defense ministers will meet in Brussels tomorrow, Podolyak hopes that a decision will be made there on additional weapons.

Zelensky does not only want to regain territory in his country recently conquered by the Russians, according to the president that also applies to the reconquest of the Crimean peninsula. “The Ukrainian flag will fly again over Yalta and Sudak, over Dzhankoi and Yevpatorija,” Zelensky said in his video message.

In 2014, the Russian army occupied the Black Sea peninsula when Ukraine was weakened after a change of power and unable to resist. Subsequently, a referendum, which is not recognized internationally, was held and Crimea was annexed to Russia. Zelensky has always championed the reconquest of the peninsula, but has seldom put it so firmly as a war target.

Zelensky has asked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a telephone conversation to take a clear position in the war between Russia and Ukraine. “He should reassure us that Germany supports Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview with German TV channel ZDF last night. “He and his government must choose.” According to the president, Germany should not try to strike a balance between supporting Ukraine and its relationship with Russia.

“Germany started arms deliveries much later than our neighboring countries,” Zelenski said on television. According to Scholz, the delay was because Ukrainian soldiers had to be trained to handle the heavy weapons. Scholz has not confirmed rumors that he would travel to Kiev on Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Especially in German media there is plenty of speculation about the visit of the heads of government of the three largest EU countries to the Ukrainian capital. The fact that Scholz, Macron and Draghi are traveling to Kiev has mainly to do with Ukraine’s candidate for membership in the European Union. This will most likely be decided next week during the EU summit in Brussels. If the European Commission agrees, then the heads of government of the 27 member states will have to give unanimous support to membership.