Vladimir Putin’s dwindling supply of allies is no secret due to his war on Ukraine. Within Russia, those who support the Russian president are reported to be at civil war with each other and fearful of being accused of war crimes. Globally, Putin has tried to hand out fancy rings to sway other leaders to be on his side while others make fun of his shirtless horseback riding photoshoots.
Additionally, recent word of Putin’s behind-the-scenes behavior during the Wagner mutiny has been unflattering at best. He apparently froze and just sat there without being able to give input to regional leaders, and Putin also realizes that his war is not going well. He finally actually admitted that it’s an abysmal showing by Russia. And with Ukraine intensifying attacks lately, Putin could use some friends. Or allies. Or both.
So and as The Daily Beast reports, Putin spoke this week in St. Petersburg for the “Russia-Africa” summit — where only 17 out of 54 African nation heads of state were in attendance — and he offered up free grain due to Ukrainian exports not being available (because of a Putin maneuver). And he framed himself as a “benevolent overlord,” apparently, even though it’s his fault that a grain shortage could be afoot. Here’s one desperate Putin:
“We are expecting a record harvest this year. In the coming months, we will be ready to supply Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25,000-50,000 tons of grain free of charge. We will also provide free shipping for this product,” Putin said.
After tanking the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17 — which had helped to keep Ukraine’s huge farming industry afloat by allowing deliveries out of Black Sea ports — Moscow unleashed a string of attacks that decimated the country’s grain exports and wiped out supplies that the United Nations said could have fed hundreds of thousands of people.
As well, Putin attempted to blame “Western countries” for any obstruction of supply transport to African countries while claiming that Russia will never steer “the poorest countries” wrong and will provide for them. And are there any takers? Not yet. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa spoke to the press, to whom he declared that his “food-secure” country is “not in any grain deficit of all” and therefore won’t be in need of this offer. So there.
(Via The Daily Beast & The Guardian)