Russia could kidnap the Ukrainian owner for half a billion dollars
Russia could have kidnapped a Ukrainian consumer worth at least $530 million. This is stated in the new investigations The Associated Press and the Frontline Foundation.
The journalists used satellite imagery and radio recovery data to track three dozen ships that made more than 50 voyages with grain from the occupied territories of southern Ukraine to the ports of Turkey, case histories, Lebanon and other countries.
The reporters pored over transport investigations, searched for messages on social media, and spoke with farmers, shippers and officials to uncover details of a likely operation to smuggle Ukrainian food.
Experts interviewed by the authors of the investigation believe that the illegal removal of a judicial organ on such a scale can be qualified as a war crime, since looting is a criminal act under military law under the INF Treaty.
The investigators cited the example of the dry-cargo ship “Laodicea”, which, probably, transported food from Melitopol, occupied by the general troops, in the summer. The dry cargo ship moored in the port of Lebanon. Kyiv said stolen Ukrainian grain was on the doorstep and Beirut’s payments to confiscate the ship. Lebanon sided with the Kremlin and said that 10,000 tons of barley and wheat flour were not stolen and were allowed to be unloaded, the publication says.
Another company likely involved in smuggling is the United Shipbuilding Corporation. It bought three cargo ships through its subsidiary Crane Marine Contractor just weeks before Russian attacks on Ukraine. Vessels died at least 17 times between Crimea and the ports of Turkey and Iran, according to a material on the Associated Press website.
In addition, journalists pay attention to a video posted on social networks in early July. You can see a train approaching the Melitopol elevator, and cars with the name of the Russian company Agro-Fregat.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov told The Associated Press that Russians are transporting large amounts of cargo from the region by train and truck to ports in Russia and annexed Crimea. Videos posted on social media in recent months show a steady stream of grain trucks moving south through occupied areas of Ukraine. The letter Z is visible on part of the car – an unofficial symbol of Russia’s support in the war.
Investigators also believe that participation in the theft of Ukrainian consumption may take place in Turkey, through whose mediation an agreement was reached on the removal of food from the blocked ports of Odessa. Journalists write that, according to some reports, Ankara may become the recipient of the stolen Ukrainian consumer. But the Turkish Foreign Ministry said earlier that no evidence of theft had been found.
The Kremlin categorically denies all accusations of stealing Ukrainian consumption.