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Global food security is under threat
Russia and Ukraine are increasingly targeting commercial vessels and food infrastructure, bringing grain shipments into the wider conflict. The attacks threaten exports that support Ukraine’s economy and the food supplies of countries that rely on grain from the region.
In October, drone attacks struck at least nine ships off Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members, raising concerns about the alliance’s response. Ukraine has rerouted grain through the Danube, overland across EU countries and along the western Black Sea; attacks linked to the Danube route were 3.7 times more frequent in July to September than in the first half of 2026, while its share of cargo handled at Ukrainian ports rose from about 10 per cent to 74 per cent in August.
In short
- Commercial ships carrying food are increasingly caught up in the Russia-Ukraine war.
- At least nine vessels were targeted near Romania and Bulgaria in October.
- Ukraine’s Danube route handled 74 per cent of port cargo in August.
Explained simply
Ukraine and Russia are major producers and exporters of grain, which is shipped to countries around the world for food and animal feed. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, fighting has disrupted ports and shipping routes used to move that grain.
Ukraine has tried to keep exports moving through the Danube, across neighbouring EU countries and along the western Black Sea. Attacks on ships and food infrastructure can disrupt those routes, affect Ukraine’s income and make supplies less reliable for countries that depend on grain from the region.
Romania and Bulgaria are NATO members, so attacks on vessels near their waters raise questions about how the alliance might respond if its members are affected. The wider concern is that disruption to trade could add pressure to food supplies beyond the conflict zone.