The Telegraph

Millions ‘knocking on starvation’s door’ after Ukraine war, warns UN

James Warrington
36 min read
Russia Ukraine grain exports war sanctions UN starvation poverty - John Moore/Getty Images
Russia Ukraine grain exports war sanctions UN starvation poverty - John Moore/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin’s blockade of Ukrainian ports “is a declaration of war on global food security,” a top UN official has warned, as 43m people are “knocking on starvation’s door” without exports from Europe’s breadbasket.

David Beasley, head of the UN’s World Food Programme, said the world was facing “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two”, with tragic shortages already engulfing countries including Ethiopia and Afghanistan even before Russia invaded its neighbour with catastrophic consequences for grain exports.

Speaking at an event in Davos, he said: “Because of this crisis we are taking food from the hungry to give to the starving.

“What do you think is going to happen when you take a nation that normally grows enough food to feed 400m people and you sideline that? You add fuel costs, food costs, shipping costs - it is devastating not just to our operations but global food security.”

Mr Beasley warned of civil unrest among hungry populations, urging world leaders to look back to the Arab Spring and other periods of protest and uprisings spurred by painful shortages.

05:29 PM

Wrapping up

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05:23 PM

Beer shortage warning as strike talk brews

Beer drinkers are facing a “thirsty summer”, a union has warned as strike action involving hundreds of brewery staff threatens to hit supplies, writes Claudia Rowan.

Workers at the Budweiser Brewing Group’s Lancashire site, which brews Budweiser, Stella Artois, Becks, Boddingtons and Export Pale Ale, have signalled industrial action across several days in June following a row over pay.

The GMB union said that the first day of strike action will be June 6, with more dates to follow as it warned drinkers “could go thirsty this summer” as a result.

Stephen Boden, GMB organiser, said: “The last thing these workers want to do is jeopardise beer supplies just as the hot weather kicks in. But they’ve been pushed into this by bosses essentially slashing their wages during a cost-of-living crisis."

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