U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said Monday that Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and Russian attacks on Ukrainian grain facilities have pushed food prices “sky high” in many developing countries.

Speaking to a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said the spike in prices has taken “the right to food far out of reach for many people.”

He specifically highlighted the situation in Somalia, saying the country has long depended on wheat from Ukraine and Russia and that the breakdown of the grain deal “was particularly damaging.”

The Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea. Russia exited the deal in July, complaining that a parallel deal for removing obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports had not been honored.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said Monday that Ukrainian forces had retaken control of several offshore gas and oil drilling platforms near Crimea.

It said on Telegram that the operation included Ukrainian special forces on boats who damaged a Russian Su-30 fighter jet and captured helicopter ammunition and radar equipment.

The military said Russia had occupied the platforms since 2015 and had used them for military purposes.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

 
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