Russia steals over UAH 30 billion worth of Ukrainian grain

This is according to PGO’s post on Telegram, seen by Ukrinform.

"In fact, Russia is blackmailing the international community with the real possibility of creating famine for other countries. As a result of the attacks on Ukraine’s grain and port infrastructure, a number of countries in Africa and Asia, which depended on Ukrainian grain, found themselves in a challenging situation. Ukraine was considered and is still one of the key suppliers of the World Food Program," said Chief of the Department for Countering Crimes Committed in the Conditions of Armed Conflict, Yurii Bielousov at the United for Justice conference.

The Prosecutor's Office singled out two periods of Russia's attacks on agro-industrial infrastructure linked to the Grain Initiative.

"Prior to signing the agreement, shellings were carried out with artillery systems in front-line zones: the most affected facilities were in Mykolaiv (59) and Kherson (78) regions. After Ukraine refused from threatening conditions set by Russia, the scale of strikes expanded. The first target is Odesa and Odesa region, which has the most powerful and developed infrastructure," Bielousov said.

According to him, since then, Russia has begun to use a wide range of weaponry. These are Shahed attack drones, Iskander ballistic missiles, tactical aviation missiles, and naval and ground-launched missiles.

"This only indicates that this is a well-coordinated policy of Russia. Different branches of armed forces are involved in such attacks. And the decision to carry out simultaneous attacks is made by the highest military-political leadership of the Russian Federation," Bielousov emphasized.

According to him, Russia is trying to deprive Ukrainians of their means of livelihood: they are trying to steal grain, and if that doesn't work, they are trying to destroy it.

Bielousov added that nowadays the losses that Ukraine suffered as a result of the appropriation of grain amount to more than UAH 30 billion.

"Given the scale of such crimes, they may be classified as crimes against humanity, in a broader perspective – one of the elements of genocide, which is connected with the creation of conditions for the physical destruction of the nation. It is about depriving the nation of conditions for survival, because we know the importance of grain," the prosecutor emphasized.

As reported by Ukrinform, Russia has organized a mass export of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which is estimated at billions of dollars. In particular, Moscow paid Iran with Ukrainian grain for the supply of ballistic missiles.