After 10 weeks of asking to address the African Union, four African heads of state attended a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others sent representatives virtually. President Zelenskyy gave a speech labelling countries in Africa “hostages” in the war against Russia.

“(I) address you in a state of emergency, when we have a war. In an emergency for the whole world, when Africa is actually taken hostage. Hostage of those who started the war against our state,” Zelenskyy said in his statement on June 20^th. “This war may seem very distant to you and your countries. But the food prices that are catastrophically rising have already brought [the war] to the homes of millions of African families.”

The statement comes after grain and fertilizer shortages have arisen both in Ukraine and many African countries. Both Russia and Ukraine provide one-third of the global wheat supplies and are also home to large fertilizer and corn and sunflower oil distributors. Experts have agreed that the war has a large effect on the movement of food around the world.

“This is a real war crime, so I cannot imagine that this will last much longer,” E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “[The blockade is] a deliberate attempt to create hunger around the world.” Russia’s blockade of Ukraine is not only hurting neighboring countries, it is deliberately affecting dependent states as well.

Russia has not admitted to hurting global supply chains and has instead blamed it on Western sanctions against Russia following the invasion.

Worldwide condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a slow process due to the alliances Russia has made and the resources it contributes to other countries. In March, the U.N. voted to condemn the invasion, and 17 African countries abstained. However, Africa’s increasing food insecurity has encouraged the A.U.’s leaders to meet with Zelenskyy and urge for a global dialogue.

“Africa remains committed to respecting the rules of international law, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and freedom of trade,” Chairperson Macky Sall said, thanking Zelenskyy after his address.

Sall has since contacted President Vladimir Putin and expressed his concern that African countries are innocently suffering at the hands of a war they are not part of.

Russia’s attempt to overtake Ukraine is not a single-layered issue, as shown by the economic and material effects far from the battlefield. But the path to peace starts with other states making their displeasure with Russia clear as well. It is important that organizations like the African Union can voice their concerns about the war and have some tangible effect on Russia’s operations.

The first priority for all countries is to make peace on the battlefield, of course, but next on that priority list needs to be the innocent citizens losing food and economic safety in the aftermath. Chairperson Sall’s meeting with President Putin is the first step, but supranational organizations like N.A.T.O. and the A.U. need to use their combination of states to ensure peace as fighting continues.

Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian and Russian goods is affecting the lives of innocent people abroad, and supranational organizations must step up to Russia and halt their suffering. It is up to state leaders to discuss ways to ensure peace and prevent any further domino effects from this war.