Russia is expanding exports of stolen Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula — Saudi Arabia has become a new importer.
This is stated in the material of Bellingcat investigators and the shipping publication Lloydʼs List Intelligence.
Satellite imagery and data from Lloydʼs List Intelligence show that the dry cargo ship Krasnodar traveled twice from the Avlit grain terminal in occupied Sevastopol to ports in Saudi Arabia in September-November 2025.
The investigation says the first flight was spotted at King Abdullah Port in September and the second at Jizan Port in November. Both ports are located in Saudi Arabia.
After leaving Jizan, the Krasnodar again passed through the Bosphorus in Turkey and returned to the Black Sea on November 23. The very next day, the ship turned off its AIS for the third time — this time for nine days.
On November 26, satellite images captured the Krasnodar, moored at the Avlit terminal in Sevastopol, again without an AIS signal. Bellingcat analyzed other nearby vessels during the same periods and found that only the Krasnodar was turning off its transmitter.
The Russian side explains that it jammed the signal because of Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. Also, the company "Petrokhlib-Kuban", which leases the vessel "Krasnodar", claims that it loaded barley in the port of Kavkaz in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation, and not in Sevastopol.
However, satellite images have not recorded a ship of the same size at the port of Kavkaz. The Russian company denies any involvement in the export of Ukrainian grain and claims that it does not call at the port of Avlita. Despite this, Bellingcat has identified the Krasnodar three times at this very terminal.
The Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) reported that this vessel was also transporting stolen grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region.
Stolen Ukrainian grain is being received by ports in Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Venezuela, and Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, writes Bellingcat.
- On Wednesday, December 10, the Security Service of Ukraine detained and arrested a dry cargo ship operating for Russiaʼs shadow fleet and illegally exporting Ukrainian agricultural products from occupied Crimea. He was detained in the port of Odesa.
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