EU will impose customs duties of up to 50 percent on grain imports from Russia

The proposal, announced by the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, follows a plea on Thursday to EU leaders by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to do something about grain “stolen” by the Russians from occupied territories.

She said: “We propose the imposition of tariffs on these Russian imports to mitigate the growing risk to our markets and our farmers. They will reduce Russia’s capacity to exploit the EU for the benefit of its war machine.”

The measure is intended principally to head off a potential illegal dumping of grain as the Kremlin seeks to weaponise as much as it can in its war against Ukraine.