US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned on Tuesday that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian ports and their infrastructure destroyed enough grain to feed 10.5 million people for a year, EFE reported.

“In recent months, Russia has continued to attack Ukrainian ports and its grain infrastructure. To date, these attacks have destroyed at least 280,000 tons of grain, enough to feed 10.5 million people for a year,” Austin said at the start of the meeting. of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, which takes place on Tuesday at the Ramstein Air Base (Germany).

“Russia’s attacks continue to threaten global food security, increasing the risk of unnecessary humanitarian crises around the world,” the US defense secretary stressed, adding: “The longer Russia drags out its war, the more obvious its brutality becomes.”

“Russian aggression went far beyond the battlefield and caused countless human sufferings,” he said.

Austin urged his counterparts from about 50 countries to continue providing Ukraine with air defense systems, interceptors, ammunition and long-term support.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Air defense saves lives,” Austin emphasized to the heads of defense institutions within the Contact Group, including for the first time the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov.

He added that these systems “will continue to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including grain exports and energy supplies.” (Agerpress)