FISU Exposes Captains-Carriers of Stolen Ukrainian Grain

Since the beginning of russia's occupation of the territory of the East and South of Ukraine, russian troops have been looting and robbing, while representatives of the occupation authorities have been “hogging” businesses, taking away industrial equipment and agricultural machinery.

Under the auspices of the kremlin, a scheme has been set up for the illegal export and sale of agricultural products grown in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This allows russia to annually export about 3 million tons of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of our country, mainly to Africa and the Middle East, first of all to Egypt and Syria (the former Assad regime used to buy about 40% of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine).

To date, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has formed an evidence base on 39 bulk carriers involved in illegal operations with Ukrainian grain. Besides, intelligence has identified more than 80 captains (mostly citizens of russia) who are in charge of this fleet.

A captain of the “grain fleet” is a key person in the transportation operation. De facto, he is the link between the seller and the buyer and has full information about the goods transported by the ship. Bringing them to justice is only a matter of time.

The captains of the grain carriers involved by russia in the illegal activities, knowingly violate international rules of navigation. They falsify data in route logs, disregard the safety of the crew by ordering the vessel’s AIS positioning system to be turned off while in the territorial waters and ports of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Precedents have already been set for sanctioning vessels and captains involved in the sale of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to third-country markets. In 2024, the EU Council imposed restrictions on four bulk carriers, including the San Damian, San Cosmos, San Severus, and Yenisei, for their involvement in the illegal export of grain from the occupied Ukrainian territories. In April 2025, the OFAC sanctioned russian citizens Yuri Vladimirovich Belyakov and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Vidanov, who at different times were captains of the Zafar bulk carrier that delivered 100,000 tons of wheat to Yemen.

The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine continues to work on countering illegal trade in stolen Ukrainian grain. Every captain involved in such operations should know that eventually he will be able to sail no further than the Taganrog Strait.