Putin’s ?1billion secret weapon against Ukraine revealed – and it’s …
Vladimir Putin[1] has a secret weapon in his belt to assist in Russia’s[2] war against Ukraine[3] - but it is not of the type you might expect.
Farmers in occupied Zaporizhzhia revealed that the Russian military has been confiscating their crops since only five days into their invasion of Ukrainian[4] territories on February 24, 2022. New evidence has now come to light showing that the Kremlin has stolen over £1 billion worth of grain from Ukrainian farmers[5] in order to fund their war and create instability in the global food markets.
The first mass-extraction of grain was documented last year in mid-March, with disused railways in the region being refurbished in order to transport the stolen food. A new report by Global Rights Compliance has assessed the extent of grain-theft from the Kremlin[6].
Russian agricultural companies have been named in the new report, ‘Agriculture Weaponised’, as supporting the effort - partly by carrying out works on the old infrastructure. Images on Telegram showed officials from the Luhansk People’s Republic - a Russia-aligned Ukrainian organisation - boasting about the theft of thousands of tonnes of grain at the seized Starobilski facility.


The grain would be taken to export ports controlled by Russia[8], such as Berdiansk (Ukraine), Sevastopol and Kerch (Crimea), and Rostov-on-Don (Russia). They would be transported via the refurbished Luhansk Railway, the Metro[9] reported.
Starobilsky Elevator and State Grain Operator, two companies working in Russian-controlled areas, have extracted grain for international export according to analysis of satellite images. It is expected that a huge amount of pre-planning was put into the appropriation of Ukraine’s grain supply - given the speed at which Russia acted following the invasion.
“The facts speak for themselves – as they progressed in their invasion of Ukrainian territory, Russian and affiliated forces systematically seized grain elevators, equipment, and transportation infrastructure on road, rail, and sea,” said Naomi Prodeau, one of the report’s authors. “This logistical takeover was strategic and is thieving thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian grain each day, the yearly loss reaching one billion dollars.

"Such direct targeting of the most essential necessity holds hostage to Russian volition not only Ukrainian civilians, but people around the world who rely on this grain for tomorrow’s meal. This cannot escape the attention of the UK’s Summit on Global Food Security,” she added.
The report shows convoys of vehicles carrying grain to the Crimean Peninsula following the invasion - with the GPS trackers of stolen trucks showing they drove through Crimea and into Russia. Trains which carried grain on the railways from June 2022 onwards were branded with the Russian Railway logo - Russia’s state-owned rail service.
Furthermore, job ads on Telegram from Russian companies which were analysed by investigators on the report suggest they were not able to hire enough drivers to transport the huge amounts of grain stolen from Ukraine. After the occupation multiple private Ukrainian grain companies were forced under the control of Russia’s State Grain Operator - which claims to have the capacity to export 12,000 tonnes of grain per day.

Catriona Murdoch, a partner at Global Rights Compliance, says the report demonstrates an “insidious backdrop” in which Russia has dismantled Ukraine’s agricultural output and destroyed livelihoods - all while creating a food crisis globally. “Russia does this through systematic extraction of grain; transporting it to occupied areas inside Ukraine or cross-border into Russia; and then relentlessly attacking and destroying grain infrastructure and Ukrainian ports,” she explained.
This has caused serious supply issues for countries in the Horn of Africa, Sahel, Yemen and Afghanistan[10] - all who suffer from food insecurity. It has also been indirectly felt in the UK with price rises in the supermarkets[11].
References
- ^ Putin (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Russia’s (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Ukraine (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ invasion of Ukrainian (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ farmers (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Kremlin (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ 'I’m a tech editor and this Sony headphone deal is too good to miss' (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Russia (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Metro (metro.co.uk)
- ^ Afghanistan (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ supermarkets (www.mirror.co.uk)