“Let us not cease to pray for the tormented Ukraine, where war destroys everything, even wheat,” Francis said at Sunday’s weekly Angelus blessing.
“This is a grave offence to God because wheat is His gift to feed humanity.”
Russia this week targeted grain export hubs on the Black Sea and Danube in Ukraine after pulling out of a major international accord to export Ukrainian grain to the world.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Pope Francis’s plea.
“An important call by @Pontifex_pt to Moscow to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” Zelensky tweeted.
“The reaction of the world’s religious leaders to the Russian missile terror and destruction of Ukrainian agricultural products is extremely important to protect the whole world, and especially the peoples of Africa and Asia, who suffer the most from the threat of hunger, from a food crisis.
“Ukraine is and will be the guarantor of the world’s food security.
“The key thing now is to stop Russian terror and fully implement the #PeaceFormula.”
ANSA
