Russian tanks and missiles that besieged Ukraine also threatened the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia, who rely on the vast and fertile farmland in the Black Sea region - known as the "world granary".
As millions of people flee, fight or try to survive, Ukrainian farmers are forced to ignore their fields.
ports were closed, which delivered wheat and other staple foods around the world to make bread, noodles and animal feed.
There are also concerns that Russia's food exports, another agricultural powerhouse, may be interrupted by Western sanctions.
While global wheat supply has not yet been interrupted, wheat prices have soared 55% since the week before the invasion due to concerns about what will happen next.
Director of the International Cereals Council Arno Petitt told AP If the war continues, countries that rely on Ukraine's affordable wheat exports may face shortages starting in July.
This may cause food insecurity and put more people in places such as Egypt and Lebanon , which mainly eat government-subsidized bread.
In Europe, officials are preparing for possible shortages of Ukrainian products and rising livestock feed prices, which could mean higher prices of meat and dairy products if farmers are forced to pass on costs to customers.
Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly one-third of the world's wheat and barley exports.
Ukraine is also a major supplier of corn and a global leader in sunflower oil for food processing.
Just when prices are at their highest levels since 2011, war may reduce food supply.
A protracted conflict will have a significant impact on Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, 2,400 kilometers away.
Millions of people survive on subsidized bread made from Ukrainian grains, and about one-third live in poverty.
"War means shortage, shortage means [price] rise," said Ahmed Salah, a 47-year-old father of seven, in Cairo .
"Any hike is disastrous not only to me, but for most people, too."
Worry about the price of bread in Egypt that could soar
UMassachusetts Amherst Professor of supply chain, logistics and economics Anna Nagurney, professor of supply chain, logistics and economics "Wheat, corn, oil, barley, flour are extremely important to food security...especially in poorer areas around the world."
As Ukrainian men were asked to fight, she said, "Who will harvest? Who will transport?"
Egypt's national wheat buyers usually purchase large quantities from Russia and Ukraine, and in less than a week they had to cancel two orders: one because of overpriced prices and the other because no companies were willing to sell their supplies.
The sharp rise in global wheat costs may seriously affect Egypt's ability to keep bread prices at current subsidy levels.
Mirette Mabrouk, senior researcher at the Middle East Institute, in a recent analysis.
War-torn Syria recently announced it would cut spending and rations.
In nearby Lebanon, a massive explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020 destroyed the country's main granary, authorities are busy making up for the expected wheat shortage, with Ukraine providing 60% of the supply.
They are negotiating with the United States, India and Canada to find other resources for a country that is already in a financial crisis.
Even before the war threatened the wheat supply in sub-Saharan Africa, the people of Kenya asked #lowerfoodprices on social media because inflation eroded their purchasing power.
Now they are preparing for a worse situation.
Chief economist of the South African Chamber of Agriculture, said that in 2020, African countries imported $4 billion ($5.3 billion) worth of agricultural products from Russia, about 90% of which were wheat.
Reduced wheat supply may hit Indonesia Noodle price
This war may affect the price of Indonesia, which relies heavily on Ukrainian wheat
In Nigeria , flour mills believe that the shortage of wheat supply from Russia will affect the prices of bread and other products in Africa's most populous country.
Top Ogun of Honeywell Flour Mill, one of Nigeria's largest flour processing companies, said in the future "we all need to look elsewhere."
"We may not get what we need and prices may rise."
National Secretary of the Nigerian Wheat Farmers Association Gambo Sale said Nigeria has worked hard to reduce its dependence on Russian grains and farmers have begun to grow more wheat fields in a bid to meet 70% of the country's demand within five years.
He said: "We have land, we have people, we have money, we have everything we need in Nigeria" to grow wheat. "All we need now is time. This destruction can be felt far away in Indonesia, where wheat is used to make instant noodles, bread, fried food and snacks.
Ukraine was Indonesia's second wheat supplier last year, providing 26% of wheat consumption.
In turn, rising noodles prices can harm low-income people, said Kasan Muhri, head of the Ministry of Trade Research Division.
IHS Markit said Ukraine and Russia also account for 75% of global sunflower oil exports, accounting for all cooking oils. 10%.
Livestock Feed "Another Cost of Starting a War"
Ukraine supplies most of its corn to the EU
The world's leading corn exporter and major wheat supplier US farmers are closely watching whether U.S. wheat exports will soar.
In the EU, farmers are worried about the rising cost of livestock feed.
Ukraine supplies just under 60% of corn and nearly half of the key ingredients of the cereals required for livestock feed.
Russia provides 40% for the EU natural gas demand, also a major supplier of fertilizers, wheat and other staple foods.
Spain is stressed about sunflower oil and the most important food supply in the breeding industry. These imported cereals are used to feed about 55 million pigs.
Jaume Bernis, a 58-year-old breeder who has 1,200 pigs on his farm in northeast Spain, fears that the war will further exacerbate the pain his business faces due to climate change and drought.
Mr. Bernis said since 10 Spanish pork products have been losing money since the month.
These costs are caused by China storing feed for its pigs to get rid of the devastating outbreak of African swine fever.
In the first two days of Russia's attack on Ukraine, the price of animal feed grains on the Spanish open market rose by 10%.
