US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman WASHINGTON - Russia's war in Ukraine is exacerbating a global food crisis already worsened by coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Tuesday. Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Sherman said Russian warships are blocking access to Ukraine's ports, essentially cutting off exports of grain, and are reportedly preventing about 94 ships carrying food for the world market from reaching the Mediterranean. "Already, food prices are skyrocketing in low and in middle-income countries as Russia chokes off Ukrainian exports," she said, adding prices of wheat have risen between 20 percent and 50 percent across the Middle East and Africa so far this year. She added nearly half of all Ukrainians are unable to access food, adding people are feeling the war's effects on food security "far beyond Ukraine's borders." Sherman said the US is "particularly concerned"