The collapse of a key Ukrainian dam last week is going to have consequences of food prices around the world, according to a top United Nations official.
Nova Kakhovka, a dam which was also a hydroelectric power station, sat on the Dnipro river and was a major water source for the local communities until it was suddenly destroyed last week.
Located in the middle of the Kherson region, the dam was mostly occupied by Russian forces, although Ukraine still controls the river’s west bank. Both sides have accused the other of being behind the dam’s collapse, while ongoing relief efforts continue trying to rescue the locals affected by the sudden flooding.
The consequences of the dam’s destruction also stretch far beyond nearby communities, according to Martin Griffiths, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator.
He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Tuesday that there was a “massive worry” about the long-lasting impacts of the dam’s collapse – especially as the regions now flooded act as a “bread basket for the world”.
Griffiths explained: “It is almost inevitable that we are going to see huge problems in harvesting and sowing for the next harvest.
“So, what we are going to see almost inevitably, but still not clearly calculated, is a huge impact on global food security, that’s what is going to happen.
“We’re in difficulties already on food security and food prices, I’m sure, are bound to increase, as well as food availability. That’s the big, seismic, global aspect of that.”
The crisis in Ukraine caused food prices to rise around the globe shortly after Vladimir Putin invaded last February. Fertiliser and grain became restricted as the war raged on, as did supplies of oil and natural gas. This meant prices for all of these items leapt up, having a knock-on effect for food in general as costs were passed down to the consumer.
In the UK right now, overall consumer inflation is at 8.7%, but most of this is pushed on by food prices, which the Office for National Statistics put at around 19.1% in the year to April 2023.
Griffiths said it’s “reasonable” to assert that this is going to take “many, many, many months” to resolve – and it won’t be sorted this year, adding: “What we are likely to see is the real casualties of this flood.”
The UN official pointed out that 700,000 local people depended on that water supply too.
Griffiths also said the immediate emergency worry continues, along with fears about mines in the local area floating and causing “terrible peril”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised the UN’s relief efforts last week, claiming he was “shocked” the UN had “no response”.
Responding to this backlash, Griffiths said he could “understand” why the Ukrainian president said that, as he has such “empathy” with the people of his country.
But, the UN official said he didn’t think Zelenskyy was “completely right”, and that the UN had done what it could to help people on both sides of the river.
“I understand why he said it, I have a slightly different view about how effective and efficient we were,” he added, saying the organisation has reached around 180,000 people in the regions affected. However, relief efforts are struggling access to the other side of the river, which is still controlled by Russia.