U.S. envoys warn Russia's disruption of Ukrainian grain risks global food shortages and call for stepped-up aid and messaging

Senators pressed U.S. envoys about whether Russia's war in Ukraine and disruption of grain exports are intended to cause hunger beyond Ukraine, and officials warned the actions are worsening global food insecurity while urging stronger U.S. leadership on both aid and messaging.

An ambassador responding to the senator said Russian leaders initially expected a quick victory. "They thought they were going to have a quick war, bring Ukraine to their knees in 2 weeks, and have them waving the white flag, and that would be the end of it," the ambassador said, adding that when that plan failed Moscow has "continuing this effort to starve the people of Ukraine and, in the process, starve the rest of the world." The official also said Moscow wrongly blames Western sanctions for global shortages even though, in the ambassador's words, "there are no sanctions on their agricultural products. There are no sanctions on their fertilizer."

The senator pressed why Russian narratives travel effectively while U.S. efforts struggle to persuade leaders in countries facing steep price increases. The ambassador said U.S. diplomacy and information efforts counter Russian disinformation in forums such as the United Nations, but noted that Russia uses intimidation and private outreach to influence votes and positions. "We know that when we had to vote in the UN that the Russians actually sent written correspondence to countries to say, if you vote, against us, we will no longer, this will affect our our long term, relationship," the ambassador said, noting that 141 countries condemned Russia even as a small number sided with Moscow.

Ambassador Power said the United States is not resourcing information efforts at Cold War levels and called attention to other structural influences. "I do not think that the RT penetration and the Russian disinformation media machine have received the same attention," she said, and added that private diplomatic pressure from African countries helped bring Russia to negotiations.

Power also outlined specific international contributions she described as modest compared with needs: "Japan has chipped in $23,000,000 to help the Ukrainians buy storage bags. The European Commission has provided, direct cash grants to farmers around $53,000,000. The UK's contribution was $12,000,000 to help rebuild the railways that are being attacked, which helps get the food out." She said many countries that funded relief in previous crises are currently providing far less, leaving the United States to bear a disproportionate share of the burden.

Senators asked whether nations such as India and Canada are stepping up. Power said India has been responsive in the case of Sri Lanka's economic collapse, providing grants and loans, but warned that high fuel and food prices could push additional governments into crisis. Officials called for stepped-up aid and improved strategic communications to counter disinformation and to help move grain and agricultural inputs where they are needed.

No formal votes or policy decisions were recorded in the transcript. The exchange ended with officials urging continued international cooperation, increased resources for messaging efforts, and expanded assistance to address storage, transport and distribution challenges.