Mariupol civilians being ‘starved to death,’ says UN food chief

The U.N. World Food Program Director said people are being “starved to death” in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and he predicted the country’s humanitarian crisis is likely to worsen as Russia intensifies its assault in the coming weeks.

WFP executive director David Beasley also warned in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press in Kyiv that Russia’s invasion of grain-exporting Ukraine risks destabilizing nations far from its shores and could trigger waves of migrants seeking better lives elsewhere.

The war that began Feb. 24 was “devastating the people in Ukraine,” he saidThe WFP and other aid agencies are not able to reach the people in greatest need during the conflict, which is why they have been criticised.

“I don’t see any of that easing up. I just don’t see it happening right now,” he said.

It has been difficult for hungry Ukrainians to get help because of the fluid nature and shifting conflict.

The WFP is trying to put food supplies now in areas that could be caught up in the fighting, but Beasley acknowledged that there are “a lot of complexities” as the situation rapidly evolves.

Access is part of the problem. saidBut there are also shortages of fuel and manpower as resources are diverted for the war effort.

“It’s not just going to be the next few days–but the next few weeks and few months could even get more complicated than it is now,” he said. “In fact, it’s getting worse and worse, concentrated in certain areas, and the front lines are going to be moving.”

Beasley expressed particular concern about the port city of Mariupol, where a dwindling number of Ukrainian defenders is holding out against a Russian siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating.

Despite the WFP’s request for access, the Russian forces controlling the city have refused to allow aid in.

“We will not give up on the people of Mariupol and other people that we cannot reach. But it’s a devastating situation: the people being starved to death,” he said.

READ MORE More than 1000 Ukrainian marines surrender to Russia in Mariupol

Russia is determined to seize the city so its forces from the annexed Crimean Peninsula can fully link up with troops elsewhere in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine’s industrial heartland and the target of the coming offensive.

The U.N. food chief warned of disastrous ripple effects due to Ukraine’s role as major international grain supplier.

A global food shortage caused by the war could prompt “mass migration beyond anything we’ve seen since World War II,” he said, echoing remarks he made to the U.N. Security Council last month.

Russia and Ukraine together produce 30% of the world’s wheat supply and export about three-quarters of the world’s sunflower seed oil. Ukraine is home to half the grain that the WFP uses for distribution in the world.

The war has prevented the shipment of 30 million tonnes of grain bound for export. said. Ukrainian farmers are struggling to access fertilizer and seed, and those who can plant may see their harvest rot in the fields if the war drags on and there’s no way to ship it, he warned.

Due to shipping difficulties, the WFP has had to reduce rations by half for millions of people in Africa. Additional cuts may be necessary. said.

“People are going to be starving to death,” he said.

Beasley also visited Kyiv, which was ravaged during the Russian invasion. Bucha is one of the most shocking places where evidence has been found of mass killings against civilians.

He described neighborhoods “completely decimated by bombings,” likening what he saw to a nightmare that was impossible to believe.

He did not, however, refer to the killings as a genocide like U.S. President Joe Biden did last week.

“Well, I know one thing. People are dying,” he said when asked about Biden’s comments. “But there’s no doubt in my mind this is a horror story and it is truly heartbreaking.”