New York Times, July 2022
Biden administration officials and leaders in Ukraine expressed skepticism that Moscow would follow through on promises that could unblock more than 20 million tons of grain. Washington is sending another $270 million in military aid to Kyiv.
Officials in the Biden administration and in Ukraine welcomed Friday’s deal to allow for the export of Ukrainian grain, but expressed skepticism that Russia would follow through on its commitments. “The United States welcomes this positive step,” John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, told reporters. “We fully expect the implementation of this arrangement to commence swiftly to prevent the world’s most vulnerable from sliding deeper into food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as extreme hunger.”
