Russian Ship Suspected of Diverting Ukrainian Grain to Syria

Photographed by Private Satellite Company

Russian Ship Caught on Satellite Stealing Ukrainian Grain
(Sevastopol AP=Yonhap News) On the 12th (local time), a commercial satellite company Maxar captured satellite images of a Russian ship loading Ukrainian grain at the port of Sevastopol in the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine.

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] A Russian vessel has been precisely caught diverting Ukrainian grain to Syria.

According to major foreign media on the 16th (local time), commercial satellite company Maxar captured satellite images showing a Russian vessel transporting Ukrainian grain. This provides circumstantial evidence supporting the Ukrainian agricultural sector's claim that Russia is unlawfully diverting grain harvested from occupied territories.

The satellite images taken by Maxar show two bulk carriers flying the Russian flag docked at Sevastopol, a coastal city on the Crimean Peninsula, loaded with grain last month. The Crimean Peninsula is a region that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, citing the protection of its residents as justification for deploying military forces.

Maxar also captured images a few days later showing the same vessels docked in Syria, a Russian ally. Trucks were seen unloading grain from the ships and transporting it at the port. Maxar stated that another Russian vessel loading grain at the Sevastopol port was also captured in satellite images this month.

Ukraine is considered one of the world's top three granaries and ranks among the top five wheat exporters globally. Since Russia's invasion in February, grain exports through the Black Sea have been blocked, negatively impacting the global food supply.