Germany's ex-ambassador to Russia says Putin wants to trigger a global famine and refugee crisis

• Russia invasion of Ukraine has made global food shortages even worse.
• A former German ambassador to Russia said that's exactly what Putin wants, DW reported.

A former German ambassador for Russia said Russian President Vladimir Putin is deliberately trying to cause a famine and refugee crisis, DW reported.

Rüdiger von Fritsch told a German outlet that Putin wants to cause a famine in the Middle East and Africa so it would cause refugees to migrate to Europe, which would destabilize the region.

"Putin's calculation is that after grain supplies collapse, starving people from these regions will flee and try to come to Europe — like previously the millions of Syrians fleeing the horrors of war," he said.

His comments come as food security experts warn that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated a global food supply crisis. One expert testified at the UN Security Council that the world only has 10 weeks of wheat supplies left in storage.

Ukraine is considered the world's "breadbasket". Combined, Russia and Ukraine export about a third of the world's wheat, with many regions significantly, depending on those exports.

Von Fritsch said Putin is stopping grain exports out of Ukraine because it would then lead to this famine that would put pressure on European countries to reconsider sanctions against Russia.

"He wants to destabilize Europe with new flows of refugees so that Western states give up their tough stance toward Russia," he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also previously accused Russia of using food as a weapon and said Russia was holding food "hostage" for millions across the globe.

"The Russian government seems to think that using food as a weapon will help accomplish what its invasion has not - to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people," Blinken said.