Starving civilians is an ancient military tactic, but today it’s a war crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere

Photo caption: Grain warehouse destroyed by Russian attacks in Kopyliv, Kyiv province, Ukraine, May 28, 2022. Photo credit: Dogukan Keskinkilic / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images. Article by Tom Dannenbaum, Alex De Waal and Daniel Maxwell. The Conversation – June 21, 2022.

A hideous contradiction is playing out in war-torn Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians are starving in cities besieged by Russian forces. Meanwhile, the country’s grain stores are bursting with food, and the government is begging for international assistance to export Ukrainian grain to world markets. Freeing the wheat will blunt the world food crisis, which is an urgent imperative. But it won’t stop belligerents around the world from using starvation as a favored weapon. […]

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