Over two years of full-scale war, Russia has exported 15 million tons of grain from the occupied Ukrainian territories

During the two years of the full-scale invasion, Russia could have harvested and exported more than 10 million tons of wheat and approximately 5 million tons of corn and sunflower from the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. Revenue from the export of this amount of grain is approximately $7.085 billion.

Texty.org.ua calculated the volume of grain exported by the Russian Federation and the revenue from its exports based on the data of the agrotechnology company OneSoil on the sown areas in the occupied territories.

In particular, in the spring of 2022, the Russian occupiers confiscated or bought grain leftovers from Ukrainian farmers in the occupied territories for nothing and stole grain that remained in elevators and storage facilities. In the spring of 2022, the Russians were already sowing the occupied lands and harvesting them on their own.

Maps of planted areas in 2021-2023 in the government-controlled and occupied territories of Ukraine for wheat, sunflower and corn

Russians export grain from the temporarily occupied separate territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions mainly to Crimea or Russian cities. In particular, satellite imagery regularly shows huge accumulations of grain trucks near grain terminals in Sevastopol and Kerch.

A map showing the accumulation of grain trucks near the grain terminal in Sevastopol.

A map showing the accumulation of grain trucks near the grain terminal in Kerch.

The Russian occupiers had almost no problems exporting Ukrainian grain thanks to an established network of buyers and well-established logistics chains. In addition, the ports of the peninsula temporarily occupied by Russia have more capacity and have not been affected by the hostilities.

Tags: stolen grain, Ukraine, Russia