A wheat field at a farm in southern Ukraine’s Odessa region on May 22, the 88th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)
With hundreds of millions of lives at risk because of the Russian blockade of grain exports out of Ukraine, Pope Francis appealed for an end to the blockade and a resolution to the crisis.
"Please do not use grain, a staple food, as a weapon of war," he said.
At the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on June 1, the pope expressed his "deep concern" regarding the blockade on exporting grain, "upon which the lives of millions of people, especially in the poorest countries, depend."
He launched a "heartfelt appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food."
Ukraine, known as the "breadbasket of Europe," is the fifth largest exporter of wheat; Russia is the world's largest. Together, the two countries provide 19 percent of the world's barley supply, 14 percent of wheat and 4 percent of corn, making up more than one third of global cereal exports, according to the European Commission's spring 2022 report.
Russian forces have occupied and blockaded all of Ukraine's seaports, essentially blocking millions of tons of food exports. Ukraine provides food for an estimated 400 million people.
The World Food Program has called for the immediate reopening of Black Sea ports, including Odesa, so needed food from Ukraine can reach those already facing food insecurity.
"A global food crisis, already impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, is being driven to famine levels worldwide by the war in Ukraine and the resulting lack of grain exports," dozens of speakers told the UN Security Council May 19 in a ministerial-level open debate on conflict and food security.
The United Nations said Rebecca Grynspan, a senior UN official, had "constructive discussions" in Moscow on how to facilitate the export of Russian grain and fertilizer to global markets, Reuters reported May 31.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of "playing hunger games" with the world by blocking Ukrainian food exports, Reuters reported.