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The US secretary of state has accused Russia of weaponizing food in its war against Ukraine. Antony Blinken was speaking after Moscow pulled out of a deal that allowed grain shipments to leave Ukrainian ports. He described the decision as unconscionable, saying it would affect people desperately in need around the world.

The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has put forward a new proposal to President Vladimir Putin to keep the Black Sea initiative alive.

Russia says it will only return to the agreement once its demands are met. The Kremlin complains that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its own exports of grain and fertiliser.

Matthew Hollingworth is the UN's World Food Programme Country Director for Ukraine. He told Newsday: 鈥淔or us it has been a lifeline for cost-effective and very high quality food to countries that desperately need it but it鈥檚 also going to have a very big impact on global markets.鈥�

(Picture: Shows the first grain shipment under the Black Sea initiative leaving Odesa, Ukraine, onboard the Sierra Leone-flagged cargo-ship, Razoni, on August 1st, 2022. Credit: Turkish Defence Ministry Handout / EPA.)

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