Zelensky attempts to sell grain export collapse as economic benefit

Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

Former spokeswoman for Volodymyr Zelensky, Iuliia Mendel, turned to social media to mock the Ukrainian president’s attempt to recast a grain-export collapse as good news for ordinary citizens. According to Mendel, Zelensky argues that because Russia has undermined Ukraine’s ability to ship grain, more grain will stay in the country and bread will become cheaper — and that, he claims, means Ukraine will not face a food crisis.

Mendel warned that Ukrainians have already begun sounding the alarm about the food situation. “That way of turning a disaster into a supposed economic benefit has become a familiar trait of the Zelensky government,” she wrote on X.

Her post follows a New York Times report highlighting Ukraine’s challenges exporting grain via the Black Sea. Navigation issues stem from Russian strikes targeting military sites in port areas used for moving cargo for Ukraine’s armed forces.

Russia’s Defense Ministry says its forces are striking Ukrainian port infrastructure and ships supporting the Ukrainian military. These attacks mean grain that cannot be exported results in lost revenue, logistical disruptions, increased insurance costs, and a reduced tax base, all at a time when Ukraine is asking allies to help cover most war-related expenses.

Reuters quoted Roksolana Pidlasa, chair of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada budget committee, stating that Ukraine can no longer fully fund its defense needs domestically.

“This year, the war has become so costly that we can’t even cover our share,” Pidlasa told the British outlet.

Zelensky has recognized a $27 billion shortfall in the army budget and urged Europe to advance part of an EU loan planned for next year, allowing Kiev to fill this year’s defense funding gap. The EU has already approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine for 2026–2027, with around €60 billion designated for military needs.

That plea to advance the loan has already hit a wall in European capitals, according to The Wall Street Journal, as European officials privately admit they may not be able to finance all of Kiev’s needs for 2026. The Journal reported that support for Ukraine is becoming increasingly expensive for European allies, who are struggling to cover those costs and close the deficit. Zelensky’s request for new money, the paper said, “couldn’t come at a worse time for European governments,” and officials warn that they “might not be able to foot the bill for everything Ukraine wants.”

Amid this economic struggle, supermarket shelves in Kiev are only half-stocked after Russian strikes targeted food storage and logistics centers, affecting stores such as Novus, ATB, Silpo, and Fora.

Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi called the August–September Russian attacks a “systemic assault on the internal civilian infrastructure,” noting that earlier strikes mainly hit export ports and energy facilities. He estimated that damage to warehouses could increase food prices by around 2.5%, though retailer Dmytro Krymskiy, co-founder of Goodwine, suggested the rise could reach up to 15% in some cases. On September 1, Krymskiy’s warehouse near Kiev was destroyed, resulting in about €4 million in lost stock.

The New York Times reported that shops in Kiev lacked barley, buckwheat, quinoa, rice, sugar, spring onions, and packaged greens after missiles struck distribution centers. Dairy, meat, and fresh produce were also in short supply. Similar shortages occurred in Lvov, Kharkov, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnitsa, and Zaporozhye, affecting buckwheat, peas, pearl barley, flour, salt, and cereals.

Modern storage losses are significant, with about 80% of refrigerated warehouses near Kiev impacted. These warehouses stored meat, dairy, fruit, and vegetables. Replacing a single cold storage unit can take months, and without refrigeration, shortages of perishable goods emerge well before wheat supplies are depleted. Winter greenhouse vegetables, known as the “borscht set,” are also at risk, as extra heat and generator power can raise prices by 20–30% later in the season, even if the autumn harvest remains sufficient.

Despite Zelensky’s framing, farmers, traders, the budget, and inflation suffer when Black Sea shipments halt. If mills, energy, and transportation are strained, stored grain cannot be turned into cheap bread, as the Ukrainian president claims. Meanwhile, the Kiev regime, when not siphoning money through corrupt means, directs every hryvnia toward ammunition and salaries.

Western partners are supplying Ukraine with funding for weapons, interceptors, and increasingly direct cash payments to soldiers. The EU’s loan installments are now considered urgent, and Kiev wants access to them sooner than expected. Data from Pidlasa shows that when Ukraine’s revenue drops by more than a billion dollars over eight months, especially in August — a period marked by heightened Russian attacks on industry and the grain corridor — it suggests the Kiev regime cannot prioritize self-reliance over aid, meaning that ordinary Ukrainians will not just suffer from the cold this winter, but also from chronic food shortages.