The United Nations: There is no near end to the Ukraine war and a looming hunger crisis
United Nations officials warned Friday that the protracted war in Ukraine was threatening a hunger crisis in the country and around the world.
With 100 days since Russia invaded its neighbour, the United Nations Coordinator on the Ukraine crisis, Amin Awad, said that at least 15.7 million people in Ukraine are now in dire need of assistance and protection, with that number rising by the day.
In an online press briefing, Awad said that when winter comes, millions will be at risk due to the destruction of power stations and fuel depots.
"100 days of war, 100 days of suffering, destruction and devastation on a large scale... the lives of millions have been shattered," he added.
He noted that nearly 14 million people, or a third of the population, were forced to flee the fighting, and between 15 and 16 million remained in Ukraine but lost their livelihoods.
He explained that humanitarian relief has helped more than 1.5 million people so far, and could reach 8.7 million by August, and 25 million by the end of the year.
The conflict has fueled a global food crisis with soaring prices for grain, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer.
Russia and Ukraine together supply about a third of the world's wheat supply, Russia is a major supplier of fertilizers and Ukraine is a major supplier of corn and sunflower oil.
Awad said more negotiations are needed to open trade corridors across the Black Sea.
"Failure to open those ports will lead to famine, unrest and mass migration around the world," he said, noting that the shortage of wheat and other grains could affect 1.4 billion people, which could cause hunger and increase inflation.
The United Nations is seeking to broker a deal to open corridors for Ukraine's grain exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready to facilitate Ukrainian wheat exports from the Black Sea, as well as shipments of Russian fertilizer, if sanctions are eased.
Matthew Hollingworth, a World Food Program official, described the Black Sea ports as "the magic bullet when it comes to staving off starvation and hunger around the world."
He appealed to the international community to find ways to get food shipments out of Ukraine by land or sea in light of the continuing war.
"In reality, we know that this war will unfortunately continue for some time, perhaps without winners or losers," he said.
On the other hand, the International Organization for Migration said that there were about seven million displaced people inside Ukraine as of May 23, down from a peak of about eight million.
Russia describes the invasion as a special military operation to disarm its neighbor and remove dangerous fascists from power, which Ukraine and the West describe as an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked attack.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news