Two events which made global media headlines in the past few weeks, help us to understand why a peaceful resolution of the war precipitated by the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia will not be easy to conclude.
One of these is the recent arrival in Kyiv by a delegation of African presidents led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to present a peace plan to the leadership of Ukraine.
The other is the bombing of Ukraine’s Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, by Russian forces.
Let me first say something about the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Each of us is aware of the important role of hydroelectric power plants in the life of modern society.
HPP provides flood control, irrigation support and clean drinking water as well as the creation of more jobs in various areas of the economy, such as construction, energy, and water management and also contributes to the development of the agriculture sector.
Can you realize the consequences of the destruction of a major hydroelectric power plant? And yet on June 6, 2023, Russian forces blew up the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Ukrainians had to face yet another example of Russia's genocide against Ukrainians-the merciless and bloodthirsty ecological terrorist act of the Moscow regime.
The civilian population and the environment downstream of the Dnipro River are suffering tremendous damage as a result of this Moscow’s barbarism: more than 32 settlements and 3,700 houses remain flooded; 5 people have been reported dead and 35 more, including 7 children, are missing.
Entire ecosystems are facing long-term and irreversible harm because of floods. And these are only preliminary figures.
Furthermore, according to Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP will also create huge problems for food security in the world, since the main grain region of Ukraine was affected, which is a granary not only for Ukraine but also for the entire world.
Then consider that on June 16, a group of African leaders conducted a peace mission visit to Ukraine.
During their visit, Russia launched yet another missile attack on our capital city Kyiv.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said: “Putin “builds confidence” by launching the largest missile attack on Kyiv in weeks, exactly amid the visit of African leaders to our capital. Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia wants more war, not peace”.
That is why the Ukrainian Peace Formula is extremely relevant and important since it will bring comprehensive, just, and lasting peace to Ukraine and security to the whole world.
This formula was presented by President V. Zelensky on November 15, 2022, during the G-20 Summit.
On February 23, 2023, within the framework of the UN General Assembly an absolute majority of the world’s nations, 141, voted in favour of the resolution called “Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” which was co-sponsored by over 70 countries and based on the Peace Formula which consists of 10 steps
These ten elements include nuclear safety, food security, energy security, the release of all prisoners and deported persons, implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, full withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, restoration of justice, countering ecocide, preventing escalation, and ensuring guarantees of not repeating aggression in the future.
Food security is a pressing concern for many countries in Africa, where a large portion of the population still struggles with hunger and malnutrition.
Before 2022, Ukraine was one of the key World Food Programme grain suppliers and the world's 4th largest grain exporter.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a complete halt of maritime grain shipments from Ukraine due to the Russian naval vessels blockading Ukrainian seaports in the Black Sea - the main way of supplying grain to the countries of the world, including Kenya.
Realizing the importance of continuing uninterrupted grain supplies and striving to remain one of the main guarantors of food security, Ukraine initiated two important steps to restore grain supplies: the ‘Black Sea Grain Initiative’ and ‘Grain from Ukraine’.
On July 2022 through the mediation of the UN and Turkey, an agreement was reached on the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
This deal allowed exports from Ukraine of grain and other foodstuffs to resume through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor from Ukrainian ports to the rest of the world.
As of today, more than 950 vessels had successfully left Ukrainian ports carrying over 50 million tons of grain and other food products to more than 40 different countries including African countries and Kenya in particular.
The Grain From Ukraine is a humanitarian food program that was launched by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to donate grain to the countries of the world, which faced the most serious challenges to their food security.
In the frame of this initiative, on March 20, 2023, Kenya received 25,000 metric tons of wheat as a donation of Ukraine, to assist all those impacted by severe drought.
The total amount of agricultural products transferred to African countries under the President’s humanitarian program is over 140 thousand tons.
And Ukraine is not going to stop further providing grain free of charge to our brothers and sisters in Africa including in Kenya, who are in dire need.
To not only bring long-lasting peace to Ukraine but to guarantee the unhindered export of Ukrainian grain, the Peace Formula of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be implemented as soon as possible.
Ukraine calls on all nations of the world to join the Peace Formula so that it becomes a universal vision for peace. We hope that Kenya, as a leading country in East Africa, also joins the Peace Formula.