Reaction of global spiritual leaders to destruction of Ukrainian grain “extremely important” - Zelensky

That’s according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrinform reports citing Zelensky’s tweet.

"An important call by Pope Francis to Moscow to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative. 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," Zelenskyy tweeted.

The president emphasized that Ukraine is and will remain the guarantor of the world’s food security. "The key thing now is to stop Russian terror and fully implement the Peace Formula," he said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on July 17, Russia withdrew from the agreement with Türkiye and the UN regarding the Black Sea Grain Initiative. After that, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced it would consider ships heading to Ukrainian ports as legitimate military targets.

During the Sunday Angelus in the Vatican, Pope Francis appealed to the Russian side to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukraine to safely transport grain.