The United Nations is warning of threats to the global food supply following Russia's withdrawal from a deal to allow grain exports from Ukrainian ports.

The price of wheat has spiked since Russia announced the decision.

Members of the UN Security Council gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss the issue on Friday. They have seen leaders in Moscow and Kyiv threaten to fire on ships traveling to each other's ports in the Black Sea.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said, "Escalatory rhetoric also threatens to further undermine the safe transportation of food through the Black Sea more broadly, and with no access to ports or world markets, farmers may have no choice but to stop farming."

He added that "some will go hungry" and "many may die."

World leaders are urging Russia to rejoin the grain-export deal. However, Russian UN delegate Dmitry Polyanskiy said more must be done to meet his country's original demands. He pointed out that most of the grain exported under the agreement has gone to developed countries instead of those that need it the most.

Polyanskiy said, "From the very first days, we've drawn attention to the fact that the initiative fails to reflect the initial goal and is becoming clearly commercial in nature."

Still, Russian troops are adding to the tension in the region. They have conducted missile attacks against Ukrainian port cities for days. On Friday, the defense ministry announced that naval vessels have conducted a new training exercise in the Black Sea.

Also on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces will now shift their focus to better protect communities in the region and to prevent the area from turning into a sphere of terrorism.