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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's blockade of the Black Sea is creating a food security challenge that extends far beyond Ukraine's borders, warning that grain shortages could ripple through countries around the world.
Zelenskyy made the comments in a Telegram post describing a conversation with American journalist Fareed Zakaria on the sidelines of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference in 2026, according to Ukrinform.
Zelenskyy said the prolonged war has become a burden not only for Ukraine but for Russia's economy and for the wider world, pointing to the Black Sea blockade as a clear example.
He said the grain corridor is now almost entirely blocked from the Ukrainian side and blocked from the Russian side as well, calling it a challenge for everyone.
He added that he had discussed the issue with Egypt, India, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Ukrainian leader said he did not believe Ukrainians would be left without food, but acknowledged that the disruption would hit the country's agricultural exports hard.
He said grain prices would fall for producers because exporting would become expensive, the sales infrastructure would be complicated and logistics would be, in his words, "terrible." He said this would be "very difficult" for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said other nations would face an even worse situation than Ukraine, warning that many peoples "will not have anything to eat, even having money."
He described the scenario as comparable to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which a large share of the world's oil trade passes, but for agricultural goods instead of energy.
He called it a serious problem that should not be left for Ukraine alone to solve, saying it is a challenge for many countries.
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The president said agriculture and energy represent two of the world's central challenges today.
He said that even if a full peace agreement remains out of reach because one individual does not want it, an energy truce and food security arrangements could still be negotiated.
He said Ukraine has raised these issues for a long time, but that they have become especially urgent now.
Ukrinform also reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas held a phone call to coordinate efforts to maintain stable operations of Ukraine's Black Sea food corridor.
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