The occupiers transported up to 500,000 tons of grain to Crimea. Ukraine's losses amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. The LB.ua reporter cites Mykola Solskyy, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food.
This issue is overseen by the occupiers at the highest level and special services. The Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine work with Western partners to respond quickly to the arrest and confiscation of stolen grain.
“There are such facts (stealing Ukrainian grain by the occupiers)... We see that it is about 400-500 thousand tons sent to the Crimea and organized. It's a big business run by people on a higher level than those we've seen on the Internet, stealing TVs from the supermarkets, etc. The price is $250-300 per ton, so it is already hundreds of millions. It is obvious that this is also done by representatives of the secret services of the aggressor country, the military at various levels, and crooks who are suitable for this type of business in life," he said.
According to him, Ukraine is recording the movement of grain trucks to Crimea. This stolen grain is necessary for Crimea for domestic consumption. The occupiers are also setting up grain supply channels further through Sevastopol.
“Almost all ships leaving Sevastopol are ships with our stolen grain. Because they do not have any other reasonable logistical approach… There were facts to which the Foreign Ministry promptly responded. The ships were quickly deployed from Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. We communicate with various channels and understand which local traders do this in russia. The information is already being communicated to the relevant authorities. As far as I know, the General Prosecutor’s Office registers these cases. And there will be international reactions. Parallel work is being done to promptly confiscate and seize this grain with the help of our Western partners. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs leads this line. There are some developments. When there is a decision, they will announce it. This mechanism is being worked out," he said.
Earlier, a russian ship loaded up 27 tons of grain in the occupied Crimean and tried to sell it to Egypt; however, after the refusal, they changed course to Lebanon and Syria.