FOOD AS A WEAPON IN THE FACE OF RUSSIA'S AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE

Abstract

Background. Food is a basic value for every human being and the food sector is the backbone of any economy. From the perspective of the individual consumer and society, food and proper nutrition affect body immunity, life expectancy or ability to live on a daily basis. They are also values that constitute a sense of broader physical and psychological security and human dignity. Unfortunately, food has also long been used as a weapon against enemies, resulting in a threat to food safety and food security. This is par ticularly evident in the war that continues in Ukraine. Given the fact that Russia has been considered a terrorist state, it is interesting to look at the phenomenon of its terrorist activities against food and the food chain. The purpose of this article is to present this phenomenon with particular attention to the situation in Ukraine. The purpose stems from the research hypothesis, which is as follows: Typical acts of food terror ism occur in Ukraine. The study used a critical analysis of the literature, a critical analysis of reports pub lished in the media (the press, Internet portals), an analysis of databases maintained by recognized agen cies dealing with terrorism, as well as the method of synthesis and logical inference. Results and conclusions. The article describes the phenomenon of food terrorism and its manifesta tions during Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Various definitions of food terrorism were presented, its varieties were distinguished and selected examples of its occurrence were indicated. A proposal was also made to include hunger terrorism in the category of food terrorism, recalling the events of the Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933.