The Associated Press (AP) news agency and the PBS program “Frontline” are accusing Russia in a joint investigation of smuggling Ukrainian grain to aid the Russians in the war in Ukraine, the AP reported Monday.
According to the AP, when the cargo ship Laodicea docked in Lebanon last summer, Ukrainian diplomats said the ship was carrying grain stolen by Russia and urged Lebanese authorities to seize the ship.
Moscow claimed the claim was “false and unfounded” and Lebanon’s attorney general sided with the Kremlin, declaring that the estimated 10,000 tons of barley and wheat flour had not been stolen, allowing the ship to unload.
However, an investigation by the AP and the “Frontline” program indicates that the Syrian ship Laodicea is part of a sophisticated Russian smuggling operation that has used false manifestos and maritime subterfuge to steal Ukrainian grain worth at least $530 million (€542 million) — money that helped fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine to provide.
The journey of grains and flour transported by Laodiceaa 138-meter-long ship, probably started in the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, which Russia occupied in the early days of the war.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov told the AP that the occupiers are transporting large amounts of grain from the region by train and truck to ports in Russia and Crimea, a strategic Ukrainian peninsula that Russia has occupied since 2014.
The Kremlin denied stealing grain, but Russia’s state news agency ‘Tass’ reported on June 16 that Ukrainian grain was being shipped to Crimea, resulting in long lines at border crossings.
The ‘Tass’ agency later reported that Melitopol grains had arrived in Crimea and that additional shipments were expected, destined for customers in the Middle East and Africa.
The AP used satellite images and data from maritime radio transponders to track three dozen ships that made more than 50 voyages to transport grain from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine to ports in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.
Journalists included in this investigation watched transport manifests, examined social media posts and interviewed farmers, transporters and officials to find out the details of this alleged mass smuggling.
Legal experts say it is a potential war crime committed by businessmen and state-owned companies in Russia and Syria, some of whom have already imposed financial sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU).
This story is part of a more in-depth investigation by AP/Frontline, including an upcoming documentary on alleged Russian war crimes: “Putin’s Attack on Ukraine – Documenting War Crimes” on the PBS television channel.
Source: DN
