Africa Is Already Part of Russia-Ukraine War – Says Ukrainian President’s Aide

Andriy Yermak, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has indicated that the continent of Africa is already involved in the ongoing aggression visited on Ukraine by Russia.

According to him, the aggression against Ukraine is an aggression against the whole world and the world needs to come together, and rally behind Ukraine to defeat Russia.

Speaking to Accra-based Yen.com.gh, Yermak, who is President Zelenskyy’s ‘right-hand’ man explained, “the aggression against Ukraine is an aggression against the whole world. It’s not that I assume that Africa could be drawn into this war. As I’ve described earlier, I’m sure that Africa is already in it. The war waged by Russia is of many dimensions. And combat is just one of them.

“Russia has long and successfully been using energy carriers as a geopolitical weapon. Now, it has decided to use food as such. By using a vast system of propaganda and total disinformation, Russia is trying to destabilise the situation in different countries in order to distract the world from its crimes in Ukraine.”

He added, “This can significantly intensify negative global economic processes and cause a global crisis. The combination of high inflation and production decline. This is the worst combination possible for Africans – many people are losing their jobs while the prices are skyrocketing. As a result, a drastic rise in crime rates, unrest, and even war become almost inevitable.

“In addition, Russia’s aggressive actions could lead to other countries, apart from Ukraine, being dragged into a war with it. It will also have a negative effect on the global economy and, furthermore, threaten the interests of citizens of African countries.”

Impact on Africa’s economy

In highlighting the challenges that are facing most African countries as a result of the ongoing war, Andriy Yermak said, Russia’s aggression on Ukraine has a huge impact on various economies including Africa.

He indicated that Africans can see clearly the results of Russian aggression on the shelves in the stores.

“Ukraine is the absolute leader in the production of sunflower and sunflower oil. Ukrainian producers represent over half of the world’s sunflower oil market. Ukraine exports many other food products as well. Ukraine has always been a responsible supplier and a good partner.

“Only Russia is to blame for the problems in the global market. Russia not only blocks our ports but also purposefully destroys Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure. That is why Russia is the only reason for today’s problems with the supply of Ukrainian food to the global market. The Ukrainian government is doing everything in its power to establish alternative routes. The EU countries are trying to help us as much as they can. But these efforts are not enough,” Yermak noted.

He continued: “Any time-wasting allows Russia to continue blackmailing the international community and deepen the crisis. That is why the only way to save the world from an increase in prices and a food crisis is to, as soon as possible, ensure the victory of Ukraine over Russia and end the war completely.

“The problem of Ukrainian fertilizer export is interconnected with the problem of food exports. And it is being solved in the same way.”

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has had an impact on Ghana’s economy with the government of Ghana ‘running’ to the International Monetary Fund for Balance of Payment (BOP) programme to cushion the economy as homegrown solutions put in place have failed.

If a new deal is reached, it would be Ghana’s 17th IMF program since it gained independence in 1957. Central bank governor Ernest Addison said in May that Ghana faced a balance-of-payments deficit of $934.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $429.9 million in the same period last year.

About the war

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an all-out military invasion of Ukraine by land, air, and sea, having accumulated over 170,000 troops on Ukrainian borders in the north (Belarus), east, and south (Black Sea). It’s the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II. The war against Ukraine started not now, but in 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine and occupied the Crimean Peninsula and part of the eastern regions of the country, a report by Aljazeera said.

Russian fleet also blocked Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, which were the main routes for the agrarian sector of Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the main suppliers of wheat, sunflower oil, and corn. Ukraine was also one of the main European producers of fertilizers. And now production is stopped because of the war. Some manufacturers do not have the raw materials and even the ability to work – due to the threat of Russian missile strikes and other consequences of hostilities. Some companies are already in combat zones and were simply destroyed by Russian troops.

Ukraine is holding complex multilevel negotiations to unblock the seaports and trying to build new supply logistics. The Ukrainian government is establishing exports by rail and through the ports of neighbouring countries, so that last year’s harvest and this year’s harvest could reach consumers.

Source: Yen.com.gh

………………………………………………………

 

Mali Says 22 Migrants Died Off Libyan Coast

Twenty-two migrants from Mali, including three children, have died off the coast of Libya, Mali’s government said on Tuesday, amid concerns that a hunger crisis arising from the war in Ukraine could stoke an increase in attempts to reach Europe.

The 22 who died were part of a group of 83 migrants stuck on a distressed vessel since June 22, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement. Of those, 61 were rescued, including some Malian nationals, with the help of the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

There have been “significant increases” in migrant flows through Niger and Mali toward North Africa in the first quarter of 2022 compared with previous years, an IOM spokesman said.

The number of migrants that left Niger between January and April was more than 45% higher than the number during the same period in 2021. The number of outgoing migrants from Mali almost doubled in the same timespan.

Analysts cite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout of the war in Ukraine as driving factors.

Spain, its southern neighbours and European Unions officials are increasingly alarmed that a hunger crisis worsened by the disruption of Ukraine’s grain exports will trigger chaotic migration from the Sahel and sub-Saharan regions of Africa.

At least 23 migrants died after clashes with Moroccan security forces last week, when around 2,000 people tried to cross into Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla

…………………………………………………………

UK – Boris Johnson agrees to resign

THIS JUST IN – Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom has agreed to stand down after a virtual mass resignation by members of his government.

Described as having the proverbial nine lives, Johnson failed to survive this round of political scandals, and will make an announcement of his resignation to the country shortly.

Mr Johnson spoke to Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and agreed to stand down, with a new Tory leader set to be in place by the party conference in October, a No 10 source said.

Tory MP and former Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman confirmed Mr Johnson had resigned, saying “PM has quit”.

The decision to step down comes after more than 50 Tory MPs quit the Government in a period of less than 48 hours.

DNT News from Correspondence reports by Linda Wayoe

………………………………………………………

Cost-Of-Living Crisis Driving ‘Breathtaking’ Surge In Extreme Poverty -UNDP

The global cost-of-living crisis is pushing an additional 71 million people in the world’s poorest countries into extreme poverty, a new report published by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday has warned.

Achim Steiner, UNDP administrator, said an analysis of 159 developing countries showed that the surge in key commodity prices this year was already slamming parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, Asia and elsewhere.

The UNDP called for tailored action. It was seeking direct cash handouts to the most vulnerable and wanted richer nations to extend and widen out the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) they set up to help poor countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This cost-of-living crisis is tipping millions of people into poverty and even starvation at breathtaking speed,” Steiner said. “With that, the threat of increased social unrest grows by the day.”

Institutions like the UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund have a number of ‘poverty lines’ – one for the poorest countries were people live on $1.90 or less a day. A $3.20-a-day line for lower-middle-income economies and a $5.50-a-day line in upper-middle-income countries.

“We project that the current cost-of-living crisis may have pushed over 51 million more people into extreme poverty at $1.90 a day, and an additional 20 million at $3.20 a day,” the report said, estimating it would push the total globally to just over 1.7 billion people.

It added that targeted cash transfers by governments would be more “equitable and cost-effective” than blanket subsidies on things like energy and food prices that richer parts of society tend to benefit more from.

“In the longer term they drive inequality, further exacerbate the climate crisis, and do not soften the immediate blow,” the UNDP’s Head of Strategic Policy Engagement, George Gray Molina, said.

The last two years of the pandemic have also shown that these cash-strapped countries would need support from the global community to fund these schemes.

They could do so, Molina said, by extending the G20-led Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) by two more year and expand it to at least 85 countries from a currently-eligible 73.

…………………………………………………………