'Ukrainian grain must not be used as a weapon of war': Pope Francis

Pope Francis has appealed for an end to the blockage of grain exports from Ukraine.

At the conclusion of the Pope's weekly General Audience in the Vatican, the Holy Father again turned to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Vatican News reported.

"Of great concern," the Pope expressed, "is the blocking of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people, especially the poorest countries, depend."

"I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food."

"Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war!"

He decried these shortages caused and worsening since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.