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Border guards intercept $880,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes

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Border guards intercept $880,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes
Smuggled cigarettes intercepted by Ukraine's State Border Guard on Nov. 29, 2023 at the Reni port on the Black Sea. (State Border Guard of Ukraine/Facebook)

Ukraine's State Border Guard intercepted an illegal shipment of smuggled cigarettes on Nov. 29 at the Danube port of Reni worth Hr 32 million ($880,000).

The illegal cargo, which originated from an unnamed country in Asia, consisted of more than 400,000 packs of cigarettes.

The border guard said the investigation was ongoing.

Russia's war against Ukraine has not stopped the smuggling of illegal goods in and out of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

Due to Russia's blockade of the Black Sea, the transit of ships has slowed to a fraction of the pre-war figure, and the Danube River has become an increasingly important trade route.

Ukraine's Bureau of Economic Security said on Nov. 16 that more than 20% of grain exported in the past nine months went through black market channels, estimated at a total value of Hr 144 billion ($3.9 billion).

Through the use of falsified documents, shell companies, and cash payments, the black market grain can be transported unbeknownst to the Ukrainian government, also denying it much-needed tax revenue.

Ukraine war latest: Russian general, 5 high-ranking officials reportedly killed in Ukraine
Key developments on Nov. 29: * Russian general reportedly killed by landmine in Ukraine * National Resistance Center: 5 high-ranking Russian officials killed in strike on occupied part of Kherson Oblast * Zelensky visits Mykolaiv, Kherson and Odesa oblasts * Kuleba meets with Stoltenberg, discu…
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Nate Ostiller

News Editor

Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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