While Western news outlets and politicians never miss the chance to blame Russia for food shortages hitting impoverished countries due to the military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s continued delivery of large amounts of free grain to Africa paints a different picture.
A cargo ship carrying 25,000 tons of humanitarian wheat from Russia will arrive in Somalia in the next few days, the East African nation’s news agency SONNA has reported.
Russia’s Ambassador to Djibouti and Somalia Mikhail Golovanov arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Nov. 25, ahead of the food shipment, to present the food aid to the Somalian government, according to the state broadcaster.
Earlier this month, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev stated that two shipments of free grain had left for Burkina Faso and Somalia, and that they would arrive in both countries by early next month.
Additional shipments to Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Mali, and the Central African Republic are scheduled to arrive by the end of the year. According to Patrushev, up to 200,000 tons of grains will be delivered to the six African countries facing food insecurity.
