Russia steals over 2 mln tonnes of Ukrainian grain in 2025, sanctions need to be tightened – Ukrainian FM
In 2025, the Russian Federation stole over 2 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and sent it to markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, almost 40% was delivered to Egypt, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said.
"To carry out this illegal trade, Russia used ports in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea and created a shadow grain fleet. Our intelligence has already identified 45 vessels involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain and its transportation to global markets, and we have sanctioned 43 of them, as well as 39 captains," he wrote on X.
The minister warned that Ukraine is tracking companies involved in this illegal trade.
"All of them will feel the impact of Ukrainian sanctions—both judicial and special ones," Sybiha assured.
He called on Ukraine’s European partners to systematically counter Russian crime and the threat to global food security that such actions pose. The minister pointed out the importance of using all possible national and international instruments, in particular, more coordinated actions and efforts by the Frontex agency.
"All Russian infrastructure engaged in the theft of Ukrainian grain, as well as its buyers, must be face European sanctions as soon as possible. We already have experience in countering Russia’s shadow tanker fleet. Now it is time to stop the expansion of Russia’s shadow grain fleet as well. After all, this is not only a threat to global food security but also another source of funding for the Kremlin regime and its war machine," he wrote on X.
The Foreign Minister pointed out the need to free the Black, Azov and Baltic Seas from Russian shadow fleets in 2026.
The Russian Federation’s "shadow fleet" is a network of outdated vessels with an opaque ownership structure (often registered to offshore companies in the UAE, Panama or Cameroon), which the Russian Federation uses to illegally export agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. To hide the crime, the captains use "ghost ship" tactics: they turn off AIS (automatic identification) systems, forge ship logs and transship cargo on the high seas to pass off Ukrainian wheat as Russian.
As of January 2026, Ukraine had identified about 45 specialized grain bulkers and their captains.