Truss accuses Putin of ‘weaponising hunger’ with Ukrainian grain blockade

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has accused Vladimir Putin of seeking to “hold the world to ransom” through Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports. Ms Truss rejected a demand by the Russian president for the lifting of international sanctions on his country in return for opening a humanitarian corridor to allow shipments to resume through the Black Sea port of Odesa. Around 22 million tonnes of grain are reportedly stuck in Ukraine – one of the world’s biggest wheat producers – as a result of the Russian naval blockade.