Russia-Ukraine updates: Kyiv promotes grain plan for vulnerable

France is prepared to provide $6.24m (six million euros) to help Ukraine ship food to Yemen and Sudan, under a new World Food Programme plan, says French President Emmanuel Macron.

“The weakest countries can’t have to pay the price for a war they didn’t want,” said Macron in a video posted on Twitter.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes Germany is prepared for the winter after Russia stopped gas flow after a dispute over the war in Ukraine.

“With all the decisions we have made, we can now say at this point before winter – we will probably get through this together,” Scholz said at a meeting of his centre-left Social Democrats.

More than 20 coal-fired power plants have been brought online or kept in operation, and the three existing nuclear power plants are running through the winter, he said.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine Mission to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya honored the victims of the Holodomor, saying the suffering and death in Ukraine by Russia is “innumerable”.

He added that Russia’s aggression “only makes our nation stronger”.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola expressed her support for Ukraine on the anniversary of Holodomor.

She drew parallels between the current war in Ukraine and the famine 90 years ago, saying “Ukrainians are once again fighting to preserve their lives”.

“We remember all those who were left to starve to death by the Soviet regime”.

The NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the support of Turkey, together with the UN, to extend the Black Sea Grain deal.

Stoltenberg said at the Grain from Ukraine Summit that he saw the grain ships on the Istanbul Strait when he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“They are getting food, grain, and fertilizers out of Ukrainian ports for the vulnerable people who urgently need it,” he added, hailing the efforts of NATO allies and the EU to get supplies moving out of Ukraine over land.

Stoltenberg also talked about the “horrendous” Holodomor tragedy which killed millions of Ukrainians 90 years ago.

“Today, Russia is using hunger as a weapon of war against Ukraine. And to create division and further instability among the rest of the world,” Stoltenberg said.

Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo shared his support of Zelenskyy’s initiative, Grain from Ukraine.

He wrote on Twitter that Belgium supports “Ukraine to take Ukrainian grain to world markets, especially to countries with severe food insecurity”.

Zelenskyy hosted a summit in Kyiv to promote its “Grain from Ukraine” initiative to export grain to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought, saying it is “not just empty words”.

The Kremlin has said that Ukraine’s Black Sea exports during the war have not been reaching the most vulnerable countries.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv had raised around $150m from more than 20 countries and the European Union to export grain to countries including Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

“We plan to send at least 60 vessels from Ukrainian ports to countries that most face the threat of famine and drought,” Zelenskiy told the gathering.

The summit was attended in-person by the prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary. The presidents of France and Germany, and the head of the European Commission participated via video.

Belarus foreign minister Vladimir Makei who held his post since 2012 has died at the age of 64, the state news agency Belta reported.

Earlier this week, he attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a military alliance of several post-Soviet states – in Yerevan and was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday.

Before the presidential elections and mass anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020, Makei had been one of the initiators of efforts to improve Belarus’s relations with the West and had criticised Russia.

But he abruptly changed his stance when the protests started, saying they were inspired by agents of the West.

“We are shocked by the reports of the death of the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted in her Telegram channel.

“Official condolences will be published soon.”

Belarus is one of Russia’s staunchest allies, especially since the war started in Ukraine on February 24.

Lawmakers from Germany are set to recognise the Holodomor as “genocide”, according to a draft text of a joint resolution from Germany’s governing coalition and the opposition seen by AFP.

Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs called on international partners to “restore historical justice and to recognise the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people”.

Eighteen countries currently recognise the famine as a genocide, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the US and Vatican.

As the war in Ukraine hits nine months, the news output is becoming harder, not easier, to navigate.

Much of the coverage is misleading at best and dangerous at worst – and with the war showing no signs of stopping, even the term diplomacy has somehow become a dirty word.

Watch the Listening Post’s episode on dangerous reporting on the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy hosted an international summit in Kyiv to discuss food security and agricultural exports with the prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary.

He opened the summit by speaking at a panel flanked by his chief of staff and prime minister.

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen delivered speeches that were shown on video.

Hungary’s President Katalin Novak posted a picture of the summit participants, saying “arrived upon the invitation of Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy to Kyiv. Where it’s needed, we help!”

Nine Russian prisoners of war were released as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, the Russian news agency TASS reported, citing Moscow’s defence ministry.

“On November 26, as a result of the negotiation process, nine Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger in captivity were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in a statement.

Prime ministers of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine – Ingrida Simonyte, Mateusz Morawiecki and Denys Shmyhal, respectively – met in Kyiv for talks to discuss their cooperation.

The member states of the Lublin Triangle released a joint statement, condemning Russia’s “systemic war crimes”, forced deportations of Ukrainians and continued attacks around Ukrainian nuclear sites.

Morawiecki said on Twitter, “Either Ukraine is victorious or all of Europe will be lost. We are stronger together.”

Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrived in Kyiv on his first visit since Russia invaded the country.

“Arrived in Kyiv. After the heavy bombing of recent days, we stand with the people of Ukraine. More than ever before,” he said on Twitter, posting photos of him shaking hands with Zelenskyy.

Belgium pledged a further 37.4 million euros ($39m) of financial aid for Ukraine, according to the Belga news agency.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the Holodomor, or Great Famine, by drawing parallels with the effect of the war on Ukraine on world markets.

“Today, we stand united in stating that hunger must never again be used as a weapon,” Scholz said in a video message.

“That is why we cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: the worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people – from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa”.

He added that Germany will contribute another 10 million euros ($10.4m) to efforts to help expedite grain shipments under a UN-brokered deal from Ukraine.

Ukraine, a key supplier of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other foodstuffs has resumed shipments but falls far short of pre-war levels, driving up global prices.

Click here for a roundup of the war’s key events from day 276.

Keep reading:

• Zelenskyy criticises Kyiv Mayor Klitschko over power cuts
• As Russia attacks, Ukrainians offer tips on survival, optimism
• More shelling in Kherson as Ukraine gradually restores power
• Which EU politicians refused to label Russia a sponsor of terror?

Electricity has been restored in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson since Russia withdrew from the city two weeks ago, a senior presidential aide said on Saturday.

“First we are supplying power to the city’s critical infrastructure and then immediately to household consumers,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Kherson has been without power, central heating and running water since November 11 when Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Russian troops took the regional capital.

The head of the local administration said on Friday that 15 people had been killed and 35 wounded in the past six days.

Russia “will pay” for a Soviet-era famine known as Holodomor (“death by hunger”) that killed millions of Ukrainians during the winter of 1932-33, including for its actions now in Ukraine, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration said on Saturday.

“The Russians will pay for all of the victims of the Holodomor and answer for today’s crimes,” Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.

Saturday marks Ukraine’s annual memorial day for the victims of Holodomor.

In November 1932, the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin ordered police to seize all grain and livestock from Ukrainian farms, including seeds required for the next crop.

Scholars debate the precise number of victims that died during that winter but most estimate ranging from three-and-a-half to seven million people.

Zelenskyy has criticised Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko for doing what he said was a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help those without power and heat.

“Please pay attention: Kyiv residents need more protection,” he said. “As of this evening, 600,000 subscribers have been disconnected in the city. Many Kyiv residents were without electricity for more than 20 or even 30 hours. I expect quality work from the mayor’s office.”

About 130,000 Kyiv residents remained without electricity. But city authorities said all power, water, heating and communication services would be restored within 24 hours.

The head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said the Western military alliance would not back down on its support for Kyiv.

“So NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference.

“Allies are providing unprecedented military support”, he said, adding they have been delivering fuel, medical supplies, winter equipment, as well as drone jammers.

Stoltenberg also said he will meet with Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss Ukraine’s most urgent needs and “our long-term support”.