In a recent interview with the French outlet Les Echos, Rebecca Bakos Blumenthal, Starvation and Humanitarian Crisis Lead at Global Rights Compliance, discussed GRC’s findings on the systematic seizure of Ukrainian grain in occupied territories and what they reveal about Russia’s broader conduct in areas under its control.
GRC’s 2023 report, Agriculture Weaponised, documented the highly organised seizure of grain elevators, including facilities belonging to Ukrainian corporations, and the takeover of rail, road, and port infrastructure across occupied Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. GRC documented the takeover of silos from the first days of the occupation, the re-registration of facilities under Russian law, and the involvement of state-linked entities in logistics and transport.
Rebecca also noted that some findings point to possible pre-planning: GRC identified that a logistics company, linked to a sanctioned Russian defence contractor, purchased grain ships before the invasion whose dimensions corresponded precisely to the grain terminal in Sevastopol.
“Taken in isolation, this type of information remains circumstantial,” she said. “But when cross-referenced with the rest, it may indicate a degree of planning.”
The article was published in the context of reсent statements by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia is reportedly preparing to extract and export resources from at least 18 deposits located in occupied territories, including titanium, lithium, zirconium, and graphite. Rebecca Bakos Blumenthal explained that several indicators suggest these practices fit within a wider pattern of Russia weaponising food supplies and essential resources in occupied territories.
Read the full interview with Rebecca Bakos Blumenthal in French via the link: https://www.lesechos.fr/monde/europe/guerre-en-ukraine-comment-la-russie-pille-les-ressources-dans-les-territoires-occupes-2232046