Russia resumes stolen grain shipments from occupied Ukrainian territories to Syria
Russia has resumed grain shipments to Syria from within occupied Crimea, transporting stolen grain from Ukraine's occupied territories, reported Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist with the Ukrainian SeaKrime project that tracks Russia's illegal shipping activity.
Moscow's grain theft from occupied territories began in 2014 when Russia first invaded Ukraine and continued after the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
Russian forces have seized millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from occupied areas, with at least 180,000 tons looted through the port of Mariupol alone, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said in October 2024.
Russia is now conducting its third grain shipment in the past month from occupied Ukrainian territories to Syria, according to the investigation.
The Comoros-flagged bulk carrier Damas Wave, listed in databases under its former name Golden Yara, operates regular routes between occupied Feodosia in Crimea and Syria's Tartous port, carrying grain shipments.
The vessel departed the Crimean port for Syria for the third time on August 15 or 16, loaded with cargo, journalist Kateryna Yaresko reports.
"Regular bilateral trade relations between Russian occupiers and Syria are now underway, with stolen Ukrainian grain shipments to Syria resuming," Yaresko wrote on her X social media page.
As Reuters previously reported, Russia suspended grain exports to Syria in 2024 due to uncertainty following Bashar al-Assad's regime collapse. However, wheat deliveries resumed in April 2025.
In 2023, beyond the Crimean port, Russia also moved stolen grain by truck through temporarily occupied Mariupol, shipping it to Russia.
Russian forces compel farmers in temporarily occupied territories to sell grain at fixed prices significantly below market rates.
In April 2025, Ukraine's security service seized a foreign vessel loaded with approximately 5,000 tons of wheat, allegedly involved in transporting stolen Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied territories.
Earlier investigations by The Kyiv Independent revealed how Russia systematically exports stolen Ukrainian coal from occupied territories through Mariupol port to global markets.
