Key facts
- Russia is reportedly considering arming grain ships with machine guns and missile launchers.
- A new report details a systematic Russian campaign to destroy Ukraine's agricultural economy.
- Over 101,000 square meters of grain storage have been obliterated by Russian forces.
- Russian-flagged vessels are exporting grain from occupied Crimea, bypassing sanctions.
- The UN's verification mechanism for Yemen does not block shipments based on unilateral sanctions.
Russia is reportedly considering arming grain ships with machine guns and missile launchers in the Azov Sea, according to a Bloomberg report. This development comes as a new report from Global Rights Compliance details a systematic Russian campaign to cripple Ukraine's agricultural economy and its position as a global grain exporter.
The report, titled 'Harvesting Conflict,' highlights deliberate and coordinated attacks on grain storage and related infrastructure in Ukrainian ports, particularly in the Odesa Oblast, following Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2023. These attacks have resulted in the obliteration of over 101,000 square meters of grain storage and machinery crucial for exports. One single attack in Chornomorsk destroyed an estimated 60,000 tonnes of grain.
Investigative work by Bellingcat has also identified Russian-flagged bulk carriers, such as the Irtysh, operating in defiance of Western sanctions by exporting grain from occupied Crimea. These vessels have been observed disabling their location tracking systems and passing through the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) for Yemen, which, while mandated to verify compliance with UN Security Council resolutions related to Yemen, does not have the authority to block shipments based on unilateral national or regional sanctions.
Global Rights Compliance's investigation, supported by Intelligence Management Services Limited and the Centre for Information Resilience, utilized open-source intelligence and maritime tracking data. The report links Vladimir Putin to these attacks, noting the use of weapons requiring the highest authorization and a pattern of avoiding military targets in favor of grain infrastructure. President Zelenskyy has reported 321 port infrastructure facilities damaged since July 2023, with an additional 113 attacks occurring since the investigation concluded. The report suggests these actions exacerbate global food insecurity, particularly in regions dependent on Ukrainian grain.