Kyiv sanctions Russian vessels, companies linked to exports of stolen Ukrainian grain

President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed new sanctions on individuals and companies illegally exporting grain from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, according to a decree signed Aug. 14.

The sanctions target 11 Russian citizens, 13 vessels, and 28 legal entities, all of which are said to be involved in shipping grain and other stolen goods from occupied regions of Ukraine.

Eight of the vessels are registered in Russia, while the others fly under flags of foreign countries, including Panama, Belize, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The sanctioned individuals and entities will be subject to asset freezes, trade restrictions, suspension of contracts and licenses, entry bans, and other penalties. Sanctioned vessels are also prohibited from territorial sea, internal waters and ports.

On the same day the sanctions were passed, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) published data on a number of vessels linked to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, urging international partners to target the ships with sanctions. The list included several of the vessels newly sanctioned by the Ukrainian government.

One such vessel is the Russian bulk carrier Irtysh, which HUR reports loaded more than 32,800 metric tons of grain at the port of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea in January, followed by another 33,100 metric tons of wheat in April.

The open-source research collective Bellingcat previously documented that while traveling to and from occupied Sevastopol, the Irtysh disabled its Automatic Identification System (AIS), which broadcasts a vessel's location and movements.

The vessel is also designated under the European Union's latest package of sanctions against Russia.

"The illegal export of Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories must have consequences for everyone involved: from companies and owners to captains and vessels," Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the presidential sanctions commissioner, said in a statement accompanying the new sanctions.

"We expect that our international partners will not allow it to enter their markets."

The Presidential Office said Ukraine would provide information on the sanctioned entities to international partners with the aim of synchronizing the sanctions.

Russia has engaged in the systematic seizure of grain from territories under its occupation since the start of the full-scale war, according to Ukrainian officials.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in March that Russia exported around 2 million metric tons of grain from occupied Ukrainian territories in 2025 alone.

Kyiv maintains that these operations violate international law as well as the domestic statutes of countries that accept such shipments.

Ukraine has pressed foreign governments to act against vessels carrying stolen grain. Earlier in August, Sweden's Supreme Court upheld the seizure and transfer to Ukraine of the Russian shadow fleet vessel Caffa, which Kyiv says transported stolen Ukrainian grain. The ruling marked the first time a foreign court ordered the handover of a Russian ship linked to stolen Ukrainian grain.

Zelensky said in his evening address that the latest round of sanctions would be followed by new measures against Russia's war machine and financial networks. He said Kyiv would encourage foreign partners to impose the same penalties in the coming months.

"Unfortunately, a significant number of Russian enterprises working for the war are still not under international sanctions, and this must be corrected in August and September," he said.