In recent days, Turkey has witnessed a congestion of grain tankers off its coast on the Black Sea, waiting to exit into international waters, which prompted the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure to accuse Moscow of intentionally disrupting ships by postponing inspections since October.

According to political and economic experts who spoke, the parties to the crisis, "Moscow and Kiev", have been using the weapon of hunger since the outbreak of the conflict, which is nearing its first year, and both parties have goals and accounts through pressure in this file.

Who wins the grain battle?

Economists expect that Russia will gain from disrupting supplies to put pressure on the world, allowing for an end to the war while it is in the category of victor and has many gains in its arsenal, and if it sits at the negotiating table to conclude a peace agreement, it will have good cards with which it is able to maneuver to obtain good spoils

Ukraine is also well aware that it is the fourth largest exporter of wheat in the world and produces 42 percent of the global production of sunflower seed oil, 16 percent of the world's production of corn and 9 percent of wheat production, which are not easy numbers in the balance of global power, and allow it to master the arts of "kicking". And flee" in the battles of politics that are governed by the economy , and whoever owns "a loaf of bread will dictate his terms" if its military forces betray it in the face of heavy Russian strikes or are exhausted by the war, which has been nearly a year since its outbreak on February 24, 2022.

Here, the researcher on international affairs at the Volsk military institution, Oleg Artyovsk, says that Russia did not use what was promoted as a weapon of hunger in that crisis for several reasons:

• Moscow announced its willingness to send grain shipments to African and Middle Eastern countries for free.
• All the objections that Moscow made regarding the agreement were due to the West's seizure of grain shipments, contrary to what was agreed upon.
• The agreement so far is considered unilateral, which is Moscow, but the sanctions on Russian fertilizers have not been lifted.
•  Ukraine is trying to promote that Moscow is the one that exposes the world to the danger of starvation, and this is not true. As for the winner in that equation, it is Russia that has the right to secure the Black Sea and the shipping lane
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FearsFears of famine 2023

The Russian military operation led to an increase in tension in the global food markets, and most countries in the world decided to restrict exports of foodstuffs and basic commodities, including fertilizers.

 Moscow also has a large surplus of wheat sufficient for all of its population, and Ukraine will use grain exports to put pressure on the world to open stores of arms and ammunition and material support for it in its war against Russia.