Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko stated on Friday that Russia will persist in delivering humanitarian aid, including grain and fertilisers, to Africa.

“Russia remains a global breadbasket and a reliable supplier.

The first batches of humanitarian aid in terms of grain and fertilisers have already been sent to African countries, and they will continue in the future,” Abramchenko said in an interview with Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.

The Russian deputy prime minister stated that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation acknowledged that sanctions imposed by Western countries on food, fertilisers, logistics, and payments have worsened global hunger.

He added that this issue is expected to increase worldwide. Last year, at the Russia-Africa Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to send grain as humanitarian aid to six African countries on the World Food Program's list.

Russian agricultural authorities mentioned that the first two ships, each carrying 25,000 tonnes of wheat for Somalia and Burkina Faso, left Russia in mid-November.