Ukraine LIVE: Horror as Putin sets date for referendum to turn huge region into Russia | World | News
Timothy Snyder, Levin Professor of History at Yale, claimed the Russian leader has already begun executing a plan similar to that of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, which is based on “hunger politics”. In a Twitter thread, he said: “Russia has a hunger plan. Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war in Europe.”
The plan is centred around controlling Ukraine’s grain exports, according to Mr Snyder, who added: “In normal times, Ukraine is a leading exporter of foodstuffs. A Russian naval blockade now prevents Ukraine from exporting grain. If the Russian blockade continues, tens of millions of tons of food will rot in silos, and tens of millions of people in Africa and Asia will starve.
“The horror of Putin’s hunger plan is so great that we have a hard time apprehending it. We also tend to forget how central food is to politics. Some historical examples can help.”
And he concluded: “Russia is planning to starve Asians and Africans in order to win its war in Europe. This is a new level of colonialism, and the latest chapter of hunger politics.”
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