The war in Ukraine seems to have moved from the battlefield to wheat fields, with videos of standing crops set afire by the onslaught of bombs and missiles surfacing with increasing regularity.
It is being reported that Russian forces are targeting Ukraine’s harvest in a bid to disrupt the country’s economy that heavily depends on food processing and the export of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil. As reported by The Guardian, Ukraine was the fifth largest exporter of wheat in the world in 2021.
On Tuesday, Olexander Scherba, a former Ukrainian diplomat, shared a video that showed farmers in Ukraine trying to put out a fire in their wheat fields. The undated video showed one farmer sitting on a tractor and putting out the large blazes with a water pipe while another man tries to stop fires from spreading.
Ukrainian farmers trying to save the harvest after the daily shelling in Mykolaiv.#StandWithUkraine️ #ArmUkraineNow #StopRussiaNOW pic.twitter.com/TFJZIFR12D
— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) July 18, 2022
It is sooo sad what Russia does in a modern world – unbelievable cruel 😢😢😢
— Jurina Luzya (@LuzyaJurina) July 19, 2022
Heartbreaking 😢
— Diane 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 (@DianeLBW) July 19, 2022
Ukrainian farmers are titans
— Margo (@Margo4UA) July 18, 2022
Glory to these heroes 🇺🇦
— Bathsheba Dreams in Blue 🌻🌻🌻 (@Inkling61) July 18, 2022
Yet much of the world blames Ukraine for the food crisis 🤦♂️
— iggie (@iggiepopped) July 18, 2022
Make no mistake: Russia is declaring war on the entire world by engaging in this scorched earth policy, attacking OUR food supply. Food prices are spiking in large part because of #Russia.#RussianUkrainianWar #PutinWarCriminal #PutinWarCrimes https://t.co/OwLiMOlkO0
— Gender Stratocaster (@SomeCndnSkeptic) July 18, 2022
Make no mistake: Russia is declaring war on the entire world by engaging in this scorched earth policy, attacking OUR food supply. Food prices are spiking in large part because of #Russia.#RussianUkrainianWar #PutinWarCriminal #PutinWarCrimes https://t.co/OwLiMOlkO0
— Gender Stratocaster (@SomeCndnSkeptic) July 18, 2022
Of all the #RussianWarCrimes this is one that will have the most impact for the most malignant reason, imposing famine on millions of people. It’s truly evil. https://t.co/K4ibPDOJb8
— It’s Not All About ME (@Claire_Myfanwy) July 19, 2022
While sharing the video, Scherba wrote the video was taken in the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine and the fire was caused by Russian shelling.
His tweet soon went viral with over 55,000 views. Commenting on the video, a Twitter user wrote, “Of all the #RussianWarCrimes this is one that will have the most impact for the most malignant reason, imposing famine on millions of people. It’s truly evil.”
Another person remarked, “Make no mistake: Russia is declaring war on the entire world by engaging in this scorched earth policy, attacking OUR food supply. Food prices are spiking in large part because of #Russia. #RussianUkrainianWar #PutinWarCriminal #PutinWarCrimes”.
