Russia's war in Ukraine is starving the world

Ian Explains: Russia's War in Ukraine is Starving the World | GZERO World

Ukraine is an agricultural powerhouse. But so is Russia. Between the two they account for almost a third of the world's wheat exports.

The Russian invasion has disrupted planting and harvesting in Ukraine. Sanctions against Moscow, for their part, have restricted shipping — further limiting food supplies.

Who's most at risk? Countries in the Middle East and North Africa that depend on these grain imports, like Egypt.

All this comes as the world was already experiencing record-high food prices due to COVID-related supply chain problems and climate change.

The UN estimates that the disruption to food systems causes by the war will make up to 47 million people go hungry.

Watch the GZERO World episode: A perfect storm of food insecurity: a problem for all of us

More from GZERO Media

Argentine President Javier Milei speaks to the media while standing on a vehicle with lawmaker Jose Luis Espert during a La Libertad Avanza rally ahead of legislative elections on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 27, 2025.
REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

The campaign for Argentina’s legislative election officially launched this week, but it couldn’t have gone worse for President Javier Milei.

US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., attend a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 26, 2025.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The Trump administration is divided over its approach to Venezuela, according to Venezuelan journalist Tony Frangie Mawad.

A Ukrainian soldier is seen at a checkpoint at the road near a Crimea region border March 9, 2014. Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea on Sunday despite a U.S. warning to Moscow that annexing the southern Ukrainian region would close the door to diplomacy in a tense East-West standoff.
REUTERS/Viktor Gurniak

60: Ukraine will allow men aged 18–22 to leave the country, easing a wartime ban that kept males under 60 from crossing the border.