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G7 Leaders Will Promise $5 Billion to Address Global Hunger Caused by War in Ukraine

The United States and its Group of 7 allies will pledge to spend $5 billion this year to help ensure food security around the globe, a Biden administration official said on Tuesday, in an effort to counter global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

An announcement about the commitment is expected to come later on Tuesday, when the leaders of the G7 wealthy democracies issue their final statement after two days of meetings in the German Alps.

The United States and its Western allies are scrambling to find new ways to tighten pressure on Russia and shore up the global economy, after four months of sanctions against Moscow and military support for Ukraine have failed to slow Russia’s aggression. At the G7 summit and a NATO meeting that begins on Tuesday, President Biden and other leaders have sought to demonstrate their resolve to keep punishing Russia even as its war drives up food and energy prices.

Food prices around the globe have surged since the Russian invasion, which has cut off Ukraine’s exports of grain and has reduced shipments of wheat and oil from Russia. Together, the two countries typically export about 30 percent of the world’s wheat and 75 percent of its sunflower oil. The shortages have caused alarm around the globe, with estimates that they could push as many as 40 million people into poverty.

The United States will commit more than half of the new funding for food security — $2.7 billion — to be financed by the $40 billion Ukraine aid legislation passed by Congress last month, according to the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the food security commitment before its formal announcement.

The pledge of $5 billion is not going to solve the global shortages. But the administration official said $2 billion of the U.S. aid would be used for direct humanitarian intervention in areas facing immediate hunger or famine. The other $760 million would be invested in upgrading food delivery systems for the short and medium term, the official said.

Among the issues still unresolved is an effort by the United States and its European allies to free Ukrainian grain that is trapped in the country by Russian blockades.

The official said finding a way to get the grain released and into the global food markets was at the very top of the list of priorities for Mr. Biden and his counterparts. But the official declined to say whether the leaders had settled on any specific plan to accomplish that goal.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has proposed releasing the grain in exchange for sanctions relief, a proposal that Mr. Biden and the other leaders have rejected. European officials have accused Mr. Putin of “war crimes” for using food as a negotiating tool.

The Biden administration official accused Mr. Putin on Tuesday of using food as a weapon of war by stealing grain, and destroying food storage and production facilities.

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