Egypt has become the main destination for Russia’s export of stolen Ukrainian grain – expert

Egypt has become the main destination for Russian exports of stolen grain from the occupied Ukrainian territories. Today, almost all ships leaving Crimean ports with stolen grain are headed to this country, said Kateryna Yaresko, a researcher at the Myrotvorets Center, in an interview with the Swiss publication Public Eye.

According to her, Russia exports most of the stolen grain, and only consumes a small amount domestically. Production in the occupied Ukrainian territories amounts to 6 to 8 million tons of grain. Of these, more than 2 million tons were exported through Crimean ports. The rest of the grain is transported by road.

“We have documented a constant flow of tanker trucks transporting grain from Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson to the Rostov region of Russia, where it can be sold as Russian thanks to forged documents,” added the Myrotvorets Center researcher.

The expert noted that among the recipients of stolen grain were previously Turkey and Syria. Currently, isolated cases are still recorded in Syria, but this trade is no longer a matter of state policy. Now everything has shifted to Egypt, which “has opened its doors wide.”

“Our hypothesis is that Egypt acts as a hub: the grain is unloaded there and then reloaded elsewhere. The documents and certificates provided by Russian exporters are forged. They never mention the actual region of production, such as Crimea, Kherson or Zaporizhia, but only “Russia” or the address of the Russian exporting company. Thus, the stolen grain can be resold to any buyer, in particular in the European Union or Switzerland,” says Jaresko.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, Egypt, grain stolen