Ukraine’s border service said it had seized a cargo ship accused of illegally exporting grain from Russian-occupied Crimea.
The ship was seized “as part of a comprehensive effort to counter Russia’s economic crimes,” the Ukrainian border service said in a Telegram post.
Investigations revealed
“The investigation established that at the end of 2024, the ship delivered about 5,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat from the port of Sevastopol,” Ukraine’s border service said.”The grain had been taken from the temporarily occupied southern regions of Ukraine. To conceal the true origin of the cargo, the vessel was sailing under the flag of one of the Asian countries—this is how Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ operates.”
The ship, which was flying the flag of an unnamed Asian country, was intercepted in Ukrainian territorial waters in the Black Sea.Authorities have not disclosed the current location of the ship’s crew or any legal action being taken
Related :German authorities have seized the oil tanker EVENTIN
Accused Russia of trading stolen Ukrainian grain
Kyiv has accused Russia of trading stolen Ukrainian grain since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, allegations Russia denies. Ship seizures, however, have been rare. Whereas Last July, Ukraine seized a foreign cargo ship on the Danube River and detained the captain on suspicion of helping Moscow export Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea.
Circumvent Western sanctions
Russia’s shadow fleet ships are known to help Moscow circumvent Western sanctions, including oil price caps, and are often used to transport Ukrainian grain from occupied territories.
Russia’s shadow fleet about 600 ships
According to The Guardian, Russia’s shadow fleet currently numbers about 600 ships, accounting for 70 percent of the country’s oil exports.At the end of 2024, the same vessel exported 5,000 metric tons of wheat stolen from occupied territory in southern Ukraine via the Crimean port of Sevastopol
Ensuring the country’s economic security
Ukraine’s security service sees the seizure as a major step toward ensuring the country’s economic security and blocking Russia’s illegal trade routes. The incident is expected to have a major international impact.
The Crimean Peninsula
It is noteworthy that the Crimean Peninsula, which sits in the Black Sea, houses Russia’s only warm water port. It is of strategic and historical importance to Russia, and its population is mostly ethnic Russians.It comes as the Crimea issue remains a key blocker to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, one highlighted by U.S. President Donald Trump in his recent criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
