Pope Francis begs Russia to allow Ukraine export wheat to save millions from dying of hunger

The Pope has called for blockades on grain exports to be lifted, saying wheat should not be used as a “weapon of war”.

Speaking in his weekly address to those gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope France said many millions of the world’s poorest people depended on wheat from Ukraine, which produces approximately 12% of the globe’s wheat.

“I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food,” he said.

Amid a deepening food crisis, the United Nations is trying to broker a deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain currently held up in Black Sea ports by Russian military.

Before the war, 90% of Ukraine’s exports left via deep ports in the Black Sea, but all are now closed. Russia has seized most of Ukraine’s coastline and blockaded the rest.

Ukraine continues to try to export its stores of grain by road, river and rail – but without access to the Black Sea ports it has little chance of meeting its targets, an official at Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry told Reuters last week.

The West has accused Russia of holding the world to ransom; President Vladimir Putin has said he will only allow grain ships to leave the port of Odesa in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.