Russia has stolen and exported $1 billion worth of Ukrainian grain on world commodities markets, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Nov. 24 at a grain market forum in Kyiv.
"The occupiers have prepared technical means to steal and take away 12,000 tons of grain from the captured territories every day."
Kyiv has lost operational control over large swathes of farmlands in southern and eastern Ukraine.
"They succeeded only partially, because the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians forced the enemy to retreat. But the volume of stolen goods is impressive - it is millions of tons of grain worth about 1 billion dollars. Russia's robbery of Ukraine continues even now.”
This year, Ukraine is expected to harvest 79 million tons of grain which is 10% more than last year. About 25% of grain production is consumed domestically while the rest is earmarked for export.
“To date, 30 countries and international organisations have joined the Grain from Ukraine programme initiated by the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, raising 180 million dollars to buy Ukrainian grain. We have sent 170,000 tonnes of food to Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. We are about to send another 25,000 tonnes to Nigeria."
Nate Ostiller
