Russia invented a complex system of selling stolen grain

Vessels associated with the largest russian grain trader exported thousands of tons of stolen Ukrainian grain. Marauders used a complex system of feeder ships and floating cranes.

Ships carrying stolen Ukrainian grain are linked to russian businessman Pyotr Khodykin. The oligarch owns Torgovy dom RIF LLC, the largest exporter of grain in russian federation, according to a study by The Wall Street Journal.

Russians export Ukrainian grain to temporarily occupied Sevastopol. From there, small vessels transport the contraband to larger vessels waiting at sea. And then the grain is taken to the buyers.

Marauders avoid the arrival of large container ships in Sevastopol, which are easy to recognize in the port or on satellite images. Sometimes stolen Ukrainian grain is mixed with russian grain. Such a scheme hides the true origin of the cargo.

During the eight months of the large-scale war, the occupiers shipped about 848,400 tons of grain from the port of Sevastopol. This is almost 15 times more than in the same period last year, AgFlow researchers report.

Bosphorus Observer, an Istanbul consulting firm, was able to identify some of the vessels involved in the smuggling by matching confirmed photos and videos with satellite images. In particular, it is about the small feeder vessel “M. Andreev”, bulk carrier Emmakris II and floating crane Petra II.

USM recently wrote that Russian theft of Ukrainian grain is visible even from the space.