Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he had instructed his government to create mechanisms to supply food to Syria in cooperation with international organizations and partners following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Zelensky wrote on the X platform, “We are ready to help Syria prevent a food crisis, especially through the humanitarian program ‘Grains from Ukraine’.”

He added, “I directed the government to establish mechanisms for supplying food in cooperation with international organizations and partners who can help.”

Ukraine is a global producer and exporter of grains and oilseeds, and it used to export wheat and corn to countries in the Middle East, but not to Syria.

Russian and Syrian sources said on Friday that Syria used to import food from Russia during the Assad era, but Russian wheat supplies stopped due to uncertainty regarding the new government and problems regarding delayed payments.

Ukraine's exports were affected by the Russian invasion in February 2022, as it severely limited shipments sent through the Black Sea. Ukraine has since broken what was a de facto naval blockade, and has retransmitted exports from the ports of Odessa in the south of the country.