Russian Ship Captain Charged With War Crime Over 54,000 Tonnes of Stolen Grain

Ukrainian prosecutors have served a notice of suspicion on the captain of a Russian vessel for a war crime over the removal of more than 54,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain, acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalskyi and the SBU said on October 19.

“For the first time in Ukraine, the actions of the captain of a Russian ship who carried out stolen Ukrainian grain have been classified as a war crime. This case is much broader than a single suspicion,” Kovalskyi said, adding that a legal approach has been formed and applied for the first time that allows qualifying a captain's role in exporting grain unlawfully seized in occupied territory as a war crime.

What investigators say

According to the investigation, in November 2022 and January 2023 the captain of the MATROS POZYNICH twice took the ship into the closed port of Sevastopol, from where over 54,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat, illegally taken in occupied territory, were shipped toward the Syrian port of Latakia, disguised as Russian-origin goods. To hide the route, the captain periodically switched off the AIS tracking system and transmitted false position data. He is suspected, among other things, of violating the laws and customs of war.

Why proving it is hard

Kovalskyi explained that occupation gives an aggressor state no right to appropriate Ukrainian property, but establishing the removal alone is not enough for criminal liability: prosecutors must prove the grain's origin, the circumstances of its unlawful seizure and movement, the concealment methods and the knowing participation of specific people. Prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office developed the approach with SBU investigators and international experts. More in World.