Russian oligarch Alexander Tkachov's company, Agrocomplex, has seized around 400,000 acres of farmland belonging to three Ukrainian agribusinesses in Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Tkachov, an ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, is a former agriculture minister and governor of Russia's Krasnodar Krai.
The Ukrainian authorities are investigating the theft of farmland by Tkachov’s company, according to the newspaper.
“Russia is taking over the economy in occupied territories and using that control to help control the whole area,” Dmytro Skorniakov, CEO of Ukrainian agricultural company HarvEast Holding, said.
HarvEast has lost 100,000 acres in Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast, while Nibulon, another agribusiness firm, has lost 50,000 acres, and Agroton has accused Agrocomplex of stealing 250,000 acres.
As of Nov. 10, an estimated 2.8 million metric tons of grain and 1.2 million tons of oil seeds with a combined value of $1.87 billion had been destroyed or stolen due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to the Kyiv School of Economics.
Research using satellite imagery from NASA’s food security and agriculture program showed that Russia had collected almost 6 million tons of wheat from occupied territories, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 3.
Swiss Prosecutor General Stefan Blaettler said in July that selling looted raw materials could constitute a war crime.
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Sunday, February 1
(Updated: )
Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal reported "a cascade shutdown" in Ukraine's power grid in the morning on Jan. 31.
Since the media outlets' last update in mid-January, the names of 4,536 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties.
Polish authorities temporarily closed the airspace along the northern part of Poland's border with Belarus overnight on Jan. 30-31 after unidentified objects — believed to be Belarusian smuggling balloons — were detected in the region.
Saturday, January 31
Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev held "productive and constructive meetings" with U.S. officials in Miami, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Jan. 31.
Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin's threat comes a few days after Ukrainian, Russian, and U.S. officials held the latest round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23-24.
The Air Force said on Jan. 31 that Russia launched 85 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which 55 were Shahed-type drones. It said that it had downed 64 drones in the north, south, and east of the country.
(Updated: )
Ukraine says it is working with SpaceX to stop Russian drones from using Starlink, after reports that satellite-connected UAVs are extending their range to strike deeper into Ukrainian territory.
The number includes 880 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary traveled to Russia on Jan. 30 for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Saturday, January 31
Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev will meet with members of the Trump administration in Florida on Jan. 31, a White House official confirmed to the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 30.
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"I can just as well invite him to Kyiv, let him come. I'm openly inviting him, if he dares," Zelensky said during a briefing with journalists.
The Shadow Fleet Sanctions Act, introduced by Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen in September 2025, expands Washington's authority to penalize shadow fleet vessels and slaps new penalties on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other energy sector projects.
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