WASHINGTON: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Agency for International Development (USAID) will together contribute nearly $700 million to international food aid efforts in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agencies said on Wednesday.
The money will go to emergency food operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen. $282 million will come from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (BEHT), which is co-managed by the agencies.
USDA will additionally provide $388 million for transportation, shipping, and other costs, the agency said.
“Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, a fellow major agricultural export country, is driving food and energy costs higher for people around the world,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a statement.
Members of the Senate Hunger Caucus in March called on USDA and USAID to draw upon funds from the BEHT, not done since 2014, as the United Nations’ World Food Programme predicted dire global famine resulting from interruptions to Ukraine and Russian exports.
Together, Russia and Ukraine account for about a quarter of world wheat exports.
The invasion was leading to a “staggering global food crisis,” said USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.
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US agencies direct $670 million to international food aid in wake of Ukraine invasion
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US agencies direct $670 million to international food aid in wake of Ukraine invasion
- US to provide $200 million in humanitarian aid for Horn of Africa, State Department says
Pope Leo warns of ‘new arms race’ as US-Russia treaty to expire
- New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow, is due to expire on Thursday
- The treaty was signed in 2010 by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV warned Wednesday of the risk of “a new arms race” as the last US-Russia nuclear treaty is set to expire.
New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is due to expire on Thursday, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers.
“I urge you not to abandon this instrument without seeking to ensure that it is followed up in a concrete and effective manner,” the American pope said at his weekly general audience.
“The current situation requires us to do everything possible to avert a new arms race, which further threatens peace between nations,” he said.
Leo, the Catholic Church’s first American pontiff, said it was “more urgent than ever to replace the logic of fear and mistrust with a shared ethic capable of guiding choices toward the common good.”
The Kremlin has offered a one-year extension of the treaty, but while US President Donald Trump said in September that an extension of the New START “sounds like a good idea,” little has changed since then.
The treaty, which included a monitoring mechanism, was signed in 2010 by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama.
But Russia suspended monitoring inspections during the Covid-19 pandemic and talks on extending the agreement have broken down in recent years due to tensions over the Ukraine war.
Moscow had also accused Washington of impeding monitoring missions on US soil.
In 2023, Russia froze its participation in New START, but it has continued to voluntarily adhere to the limits set in the treaty.
Moscow has last year tested its latest nuclear weapon carriers without atomic warheads, and Trump said he was moving two nuclear submarines closer to Russia.
New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is due to expire on Thursday, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers.
“I urge you not to abandon this instrument without seeking to ensure that it is followed up in a concrete and effective manner,” the American pope said at his weekly general audience.
“The current situation requires us to do everything possible to avert a new arms race, which further threatens peace between nations,” he said.
Leo, the Catholic Church’s first American pontiff, said it was “more urgent than ever to replace the logic of fear and mistrust with a shared ethic capable of guiding choices toward the common good.”
The Kremlin has offered a one-year extension of the treaty, but while US President Donald Trump said in September that an extension of the New START “sounds like a good idea,” little has changed since then.
The treaty, which included a monitoring mechanism, was signed in 2010 by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama.
But Russia suspended monitoring inspections during the Covid-19 pandemic and talks on extending the agreement have broken down in recent years due to tensions over the Ukraine war.
Moscow had also accused Washington of impeding monitoring missions on US soil.
In 2023, Russia froze its participation in New START, but it has continued to voluntarily adhere to the limits set in the treaty.
Moscow has last year tested its latest nuclear weapon carriers without atomic warheads, and Trump said he was moving two nuclear submarines closer to Russia.
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