Since the beginning of Russia's occupation of the eastern and southern territories of Ukraine, Russian troops have been engaging in looting and theft, while representatives of the occupation authorities are ‘seizing’ businesses, exporting industrial equipment, and agricultural machinery.
Under the patronage of the Kremlin, a scheme for the illegal export and sale of agricultural products grown in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine has been established. This allows Russia to export about 3 million tons of grain annually from the temporarily occupied territories of our state, mainly to African and Middle Eastern countries, particularly Egypt and Syria (the former regime of Bashar al-Assad purchased about 40% of the grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine).
To date, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has formed a proof base regarding 39 bulk carriers involved in illegal operations with Ukrainian grain. Additionally, the intelligence has identified over 80 captains (mostly Russian nationals) who are responsible for managing this fleet.
The captain of the ‘grain fleet’ is a key figure in the transport operation. De facto, they are the connecting link between the seller and the buyer and possess full information about the goods being transported by the ship. Holding them accountable is a matter of time.
The ‘grain ship’ captains, involved by Russia in illegal activities, deliberately violate international maritime rules. They falsify data in the route logs, neglect the safety of the crew, and issue orders to turn off the ship's positioning system ‘AIS’ when in the territorial waters and ports of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
There have already been precedents for sanctioning vessels and captains involved in operations to sell grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on third-country markets. In 2024, the EU Council imposed sanctions on four bulk carriers, including ‘San Damian,’ ‘San Cosmos,’ ‘San Siverus,’ and ‘Yenisey,’ for their involvement in the illegal export of grain from occupied Ukrainian territories. In April 2025, the OFAC decision sanctioned Russian citizens Yuriy Volodymyrovych Belyakov and Vyacheslav Volodymyrovych Vidanov, who had at various times been the captains of the dry cargo ship ‘Zafar,’ which delivered 100,000 tons of wheat to Yemen.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine continues to work on countering the illegal trade of stolen Ukrainian grain. Every captain involved in such operations should know that, eventually, they will only be able to sail as far as the Taganrog Strait.
