Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Wednesday that Russia is "using hunger as a weapon" in Ukraine as over 100,000 people in the besieged city of Mariupol and elsewhere remain without basic necessities. "There are half a million inhabitants under siege. They are blocking humanitarian cargo and not allowing anything to come through, neither water nor medication. They are bombing 24/7," Zelensky told the Irish parliament.
He noted Ukraine is one of the leading food-supplying countries in the world and warned of impending food shortages. "The prices will go up, and this is the reality for the millions of people who are hungry, and it will be more difficult for them to feed their families," he stated. Zelensky also reiterated his request for more sanctions. "We have to put an end to trading with Russia. We have to cut ties of the Russian banks to the global system and cut the sources of their income from oil that they use for their weapons and killing," he told Irish lawmakers.
