Aksonov admits Russians are selling stolen grain in Sevastopol

DENIS KARLOVSKY – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022, 19:45

The so-called head of the Crimean occupation administration, Serhii Aksyonov, has said that the Russians are exporting grain stolen in the occupied territories of Ukraine via Sevastopol.

Source: Russian TV channel “Crimea 24” with Aksyonov’s comment

Aksyonov’s Quote: “Grain from the liberated (occupied – ed.) territories is in transit to the Republic of Crimea, then goes to Sevastopol for sale. We are providing ourselves with grain.”

Background:

• The Ukrainian authorities assert that the Russian occupiers are systematically exporting looted grain from the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. On 8 June, the Russian military sent the first train with looted grain from Melitopol to the Crimea.
• Journalists recorded convoys of looted grain trucks near Kerch and Dzhankoi.
• Because of the war, Ukraine has lost a quarter of its cultivated area. Ukrainian authorities predict that the harvest will be 40% lower this year.
• The Russian navy is also blocking sea routes to Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea coast, making it impossible to transport grain safely to other countries. Ukraine and European partners have established an export route through the Baltic Sea. The international community fears that the shortage of Ukrainian grain in the global food market could provoke even more instability and lead to coups in developing countries.
• In addition to grain, Russian invaders are exporting cherries from the occupied areas of the southern regions of Ukraine and boasting about a “collapse in prices.”