Russia using food as weapon in Ukraine - Blinken

STORY: Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Blinken appealed to Russia to stop blockading Ukrainian ports. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 to carry out what Moscow calls a "special military operation."

The war in Ukraine has caused global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer to soar.

Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil, while Russia and Belarus - which has backed Moscow in its war in Ukraine - account for more than 40% of global exports of potash, a crop nutrient.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to broker a "package deal" that will allow Ukraine to resume food exports through the Black Sea and revive Russian food and fertilizer production to world markets.