Since the beginning of 2026, Russia has continued to illegally export Ukrainian grain from temporarily occupied territories. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha emphasized that Ukraine will expand its fight against the Russian shadow grain fleet and its accomplices in all possible jurisdictions.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the illegal grain export
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from January to April 2026, 25 vessels belonging to the Russian shadow grain fleet made about 50 trips from ports in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to third countries. During this period, Russia exported over 850 thousand tons of Ukrainian grain, with more than half of this volume coming through the closed port in Sevastopol. Another 13% was exported from ports on the Sea of Azov, namely Mariupol and Berdyansk.
“Most of these trips were aimed at transporting illegal grain cargo. During this period, over 850,000 tons of grain were exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine,” the minister stated.
Sybiha emphasized that Ukraine possesses information about the vessels, companies, their owners, and other details related to these operations. Russia attempts to conceal its actions by turning off transponders, changing vessel coordinates, and transferring grain from one vessel to another to complicate the detection of illegal shipments.
International counteraction and historical context
Ukraine consistently raises the issue of the operation of closed ports in the Black and Azov Seas at the International Maritime Organization. In particular, the IMO resolution calls on member states to inform shipowners and operators about the necessity of adhering to the closed port regime and to investigate potential violations.
The Foreign Minister reminded that Ukraine has a tragic experience of genocide through famine – the Holodomor, when grain was taken from the people. He stressed that the country will respond harshly to any attempts to steal its crops.
In response to recent reports of vessels carrying stolen Ukrainian grain arriving in Israel, Ukraine summoned the Israeli ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar noted on social media that diplomatic relations between friendly states should not be conducted through public platforms.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has illegally exported over 1.7 million tons of agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, worth over 20 billion hryvnias.
Minister Sybiha stated that Ukraine is working on strengthening sanctions in the European Union, G7, and other key jurisdictions against those involved in the illegal export and trade of Ukrainian grain. Kyiv will also initiate updates to the sanctions lists and implement targeted and strict restrictions for violators.