LARGE AREA LIKE DESERT

Chronicle (Levin), 5 August 1946, Page 5

LARGE AREA LIKE DESERT

SERIOUS FOOD SHORTAGE IN PARTS OF RUSSIA Reeeived Sunday, 7 p.m. GENEYA, August 2. . The entire territory 400 miles from Min.sk to Moscow is a desert zone, -says the first report 011 the activities of tlie Unrra mission to Russia. The report, which is issued on the eve of the Unrra eonferenee at Geneva on August 5, says every town in tliat area was practically destroyed and 10,000,000 White Russiaus laeked all necessities — I eveu the barest necessities — such as | clotliing, footwear, shelter, medical sup- j plies and equipment, and there was ino i food except cereals. Unrra found similar conditions in the Ukraine, where hospitals were without soap, and the population was living on bread, macaroni, and eheese until Unrra su.pplies arrived. The mission found tliat in towns whicli before the war were populated by 100,000 persons, of whom only half had survived, the people were living mostly in ceUats and shcJs. The report added: — ' ' There is not enough food to supply 1 even a fraction of the rations. The average consuniption of meats and fats does not exoeed 11b a month for each person. ' ' Unrra planned to ship into the Ukraine and Byelorussia 559,000 tons of supplies, costing £62,000,000 sterling, 15,000 tons of whieh would be maehinerv, much of it surplus army bulldozers, 1 raetors, and generators. j The report added that the mission had ! been free 1o travel wlierever necessary to observe distribution of supplies.