Intelligence has gathered evidence against 80 captains who exported Ukrainian grain.

Since the beginning of the occupation of the East and South of Ukraine, Russian troops have been committing looting and robberies, and representatives of the occupying authorities are 'seizing' businesses, exporting industrial equipment and agricultural machinery, the Foreign Intelligence Service reported.

According to the FIS, under the patronage of the Kremlin, a scheme for the illegal export and sale of agricultural products grown in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine has been established.

'This allows Russia to export about 3 million tons of grain annually from the temporarily occupied territories of our state, mainly to countries in Africa and the Middle East, primarily to Egypt and Syria (the former regime of B. Assad bought about 40% of the grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine),' the intelligence reported.

As of today, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has formed a body of evidence regarding 39 bulk carriers involved in illegal operations with Ukrainian grain. In addition, intelligence has identified more than 80 captains (mostly citizens of Russia) who are managing this fleet.

'The captain of the 'grain fleet' is a key figure in the transport operation. De facto, he is the connecting link between the seller and the buyer and possesses complete information about the cargo being transported by the vessel. Holding them accountable is a matter of Time. The captains of the 'grain carriers' involved by Russia in illegal activities deliberately violate international maritime rules. They falsify data in logbooks, neglect the safety of the crew, issuing orders to turn off the vessel's positioning system 'AIS' while in the territorial waters and ports of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,' the FIS reported.

The Foreign Intelligence Service noted that precedents have already been set for sanctioning vessels and captains involved in operations to sell grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in markets of third countries. In 2024, the EU Council imposed restrictions on four bulk carriers, including 'San Damian', 'San Cosmos', 'San Siverus', and 'Yenisei', for participation in the illegal export of grain from occupied Ukrainian territories. In April 2025, the OFAC sanctioned Russian citizens Yury Belyakov and Vyacheslav Vidanov, who at different times were captains of the dry cargo ship 'Zafar', which delivered 100 thousand tons of wheat to Yemen.