Ukraine was a major food exporter before the Ukraine war, feeding some 400million people around the world 44milion of whom now face starvation - with those in the Middle East and Africa being the most at risk
* Russian invasion of Ukraine has blocked grain exports, and will likely cause food shortages for years to come
* 44million at risk of starvation while another 395million will see shortages, World Food Programme warned
* Africa and Middle East will be hardest-hit regions, as leaders pressure the West to help bring war to an end
* African Union leader Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have joined likes of Turkey's Erdogan and Saudi Arabia's Bin Salman in calling for a peace deal, which experts say would favour Russia
Ukraine believes its fate will be decided in the mud and blood of Donbas - where its troops are trying to grind Russia's army into the dirt using skill, courage, and a fearsome arsenal of Western weaponry.
But it seems increasingly likely that its destiny could be decided on another frontline, thousands of miles away: In the deserts of the Middle East and drought-stricken farmlands of Africa, where 44million people who relied on the country for food are now facing famine unless the conflict can be brought to a swift end.
Blockades of Ukraine's main Black Sea ports have placed a stranglehold on grain supplies which previously fed 400million, threatening starvation and riots from Libya to Liberia, and Syria to South Sudan.
Read more ....
Update #1: EU Warns Ukraine War Pushes Middle East, North Africa Deeper into Famine (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Update #2: War in Ukraine Is Destabilizing the Middle East and North Africa (National Interest)
WNU Editor: You can write-off Ukraine exporting grain this year. And probably also next year.
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