According to the NASA Harvest mission (a food security and agriculture program), Russia currently controls approximately 22% of Ukraineʼs agricultural land. In these territories, mainly winter crops are grown — wheat, rye and barley.
This is stated in the analysis of NASA Harvest satellite images.
NASAʼs analysis focused on the impact of the Russian invasion on the global food system. For this, specialists took data from Planet Labs satellites and the Sentinel-2 mission of the European Space Agency. The result showed that the fields where 28% of winter and 18% of spring crops (including corn and sunflower) are sown are under occupation.
Distribution of spring and winter crops in Ukraine as of June 13, 2022
NASA Harvest
Ukraine supplied 46% of the worldʼs oil exports, 9% of wheat exports, 17% of barley and 12% of corn on world markets, so the occupation of Ukraineʼs lands directly leads to the food crisis. In addition, part of the fields is already unsuitable for sowing due to shells and mines in the fields.
The blockade of ports also affects the crisis. Mykolaiv, Chornomorsk, Pivdenne and Odesa, which are constantly attacked by the Russians, are the main exporters of grain, but they cannot work.
- Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian troops have been blocking exports from Ukrainian ports, as a result of which products have to be exported by rail and road. Western partners are still proposing to build granaries near the border, to negotiate with Russia, but they are not ready for military unblocking, or to facilitate this in the form of "corridors".
- Meanwhile, the Russian Federation continues to rob Ukrainian grain, exporting it to Russia, Syria and Türkiye, as indicated by numerous journalistic investigations.