EU says US attempt to take control of Ukraine's agriculture

US companies are buying up agricultural land in Ukraine in an attempt to establish control over this sector. Barbara Bonte, a member of the European Parliament (EP) from Poland, sent a corresponding appeal to the European Commission (EC).

"According to several alarming reports, mainly American, but also Saudi agribusiness and investment companies are buying Ukrainian agricultural land en masse. For example, it is reported that Cargill, ADM, Blackrock, Oaktree Capital Management and Bunge Limited have gained control over most of Ukraine's agricultural land," Lenta.Ru quoted the MEP as saying.

According to Bonthe, the United States seeks to recoup its military support for Ukraine and to establish a geopolitical presence there in a post-war scenario through control over Ukrainian agricultural land and the profits it generates.

It therefore asks the European Commission how it intends to prevent the US from interfering in Ukraine.

Earlier, on November 21, Nikolay Topornin, director of the Center for European Information, told Izvestia that a number of NATO member states are wary of giving membership to Ukraine. The idea of Kiev joining the North Atlantic alliance is currently not supported by such states as the USA, Germany and France. According to the expert, Kiev does not fully meet the necessary Western standards. In addition, the North Atlantic Alliance does not want to become a party to the conflict.

Before that, on November 14, the former head of the NATO military committee, Harald Kuyat, said that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO because it does not meet the requirements of the alliance and will not be able to strengthen it. He pointed out that the reason for this was that Kiev did not meet the requirements of Article 10 of the bloc's treaty.

On the same day, the International Republican Institute in Ukraine published the results of a poll according to which support for the country's accession to NATO and the European Union (EU) among citizens has fallen by 7% in a year and a half. If in February 2023, 82% of respondents supported the course of European integration, in September 2024 - 75%.

Ukraine applied to join NATO on an accelerated basis on September 30, 2022. Then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expired on May 20, 2024, said that the country was already in the alliance and met its standards.