UN warns Russian blockade of Ukraine’s grain exports may trigger global famine

A grocer sits with four loaves of bread in Lilongwe, Malawi. Africans are feeling the impact of the Ukraine crisis in increases in the price of grain, as well as fuel and fertiliser. Photograph: Amos Gumulira/AFP/Getty Images

The United Nations has warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could trigger global famine, as Moscow’s Black Sea blockade delays crucial grain exports, and stoked fears of a deepening hunger crisis in countries such as Yemen and Ethiopia.

The UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, warned on Friday of a global famine as the result of Russia’s invasion.