Mar 22, 2022 - World

UN chief: War in Ukraine is "threatening to spiral into a global hunger crisis"

Noah Garfinkel

Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres — UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to the media on March 14, 2022. Photo: Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called for an end to the "absurd war" in Ukraine, warning that it could lead to "a global hunger crisis."

Driving the news: The UN warned last week that there could be "collateral hunger" in some Middle Eastern countries that rely heavily on Ukraine for wheat.

Details: During a news briefing with reporters in New York, Guterres said some 10 million Ukranians have fled from their homes and warned the consequences of war were being felt globally "with skyrocketing food, energy and fertilizer prices threatening to spiral into a global hunger crisis."

What he's saying: "This war is unwinnable. ... Sooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. This is inevitable The only question is: How many more lives must be lost?"
"Continuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical."
"Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house," Guterres added.

Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis

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UN chief: War in Ukraine is "threatening to spiral into a global hunger crisis"

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