Billions on the line: WSJ reveals the scale of Ukrainian grain theft by Russia.

Since 2022, Russia and its allies have realized stolen grain from occupied Ukrainian territories worth about 1 billion dollars. This illegal scheme includes a broad network of partners, including companies related to the Russian invasion and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

This is stated in The Wall Street Journal's investigation.

In the first half of 2024, 15 ships delivered 81,000 tons of wheat from Mariupol to Turkey. Turkish authorities announce a ban on the entry of ships from occupied ports and cooperation with Ukraine to stop illegal trade.

According to the estimate of Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Agriculture Markiyan Dmytrasevych, more than 4 million tons of grain worth about 800 million dollars have been sold from occupied territories. Journalists suggest that the total value of the stolen grain may reach 6.4 billion dollars.

Russian state corporations play a significant role in the scheme. In particular, three ships exporting large volumes of stolen grain belong to Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation. One of the Russian companies in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region even donated 111,000 dollars to the occupation battalion.

Crimean grain finds buyers in countries such as Yemen and Iran. For example, Iran buys barley from Crimea with a 34% discount off the market price, paying 140 dollars per ton. Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon have suspended purchases after receiving information about the origin of the grain.

Last year, the occupiers exported nearly 5 million tons of Ukrainian grain from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The sale of stolen grain helps Russia mitigate the impact of international sanctions and finance military actions against Ukraine.

We add that earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture forecasted when the work on the methodology for determining the country of origin of grain would be completed.