The captain of the ship that exported over 50 thousand tons of stolen grain from Ukraine was informed of suspicion
19.10.2026 - 15:16
The SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office have collected evidence against the captain of a ship that, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, exported more than 54 thousand tons of grain from Ukraine.
This is wheat illegally stolen by the Russians in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the SBU reported.
The suspect turned out to be a Russian citizen, the captain of the cargo ship MATROS POZYNICH. In 2022-2023, he twice exported wheat from the temporarily occupied Sevastopol to the port of Latakia in Syria, which the occupiers illegally took from Ukrainian farmers.
As the investigation found out, the first batch — more than 27 thousand tons of grain — left Crimea in 2022. The ship exported another more than 27 thousand tons in January 2023. In total, this is more than 54 thousand tons of Ukrainian wheat.
According to the investigation, the grain was exported by decision of the top political leadership of the aggressor country. Such actions violate the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the theft of property in occupied territories.
SBU investigators in absentia informed the captain of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
• Part 3 of Article 332-1 (violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine with the aim of causing harm to the interests of the state, committed by an organized group);
• Part 1 of Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war).
Comprehensive measures are underway to bring the person involved to justice, as well as to identify other participants in the scheme. The investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the SBU under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Earlier, USM reported that the SBU detained company executives in Odesa in the case of the sale of grain stolen from the Russian Federation.
