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Russia's Black Sea blockade halts grain exports from Ukraine, 'one of the breadbaskets of the world'

As the United Nations tries to broker an end to Russia's devastating Black Sea blockade, FRANCE 24 is joined by Kris Janowski, Spokesperson for the UN Crisis Coordinator in Ukraine. He deems any global food shortages the "silent peril, the silent side effect of this crisis in Ukraine. But now our concern here primarily is of course the situation in Ukraine," explains Mr. Janowski. He points out that "we are about to essentially mark another grim milestone in a few days with essentially four months since the Russian invasion on February 24th." And while "every aspect of human activity" has been affected by the war: education, economy, health, people losing friends and loved ones, "we always hope for a solution," says Mr. Janowski. "Ideally the war should stop and the suffering should stop. But in the meantime, even though we cannot bring back the dead, we can help the living. And the UN has actually mounted a very fast and fast-growing operation to help the population of Ukraine." He's hailing this historic and "unprecedented operation" whereby the UN is now working in all 24 administrative districts of the country and now reaching more than 8 million beneficiaries.