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Ukraine seizes cargo vessel, detains the captain for allegedly exporting stolen grain

The Security Service of Ukraine said that on Thursday, Ukraine had seized an unidentified foreign cargo vessel in the Black Sea near its Odesa Region and arrested the captain under suspicion of helping Moscow to export Ukrainian grain out of the Russian-occupied Crimea.

The SBU reported that the vessel, which they did not identify as being a ship, was traveling under the flags of two central African countries and had repeatedly docked in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, to collect "looted agricultural products" between 2023-24.

In the first year after its invasion, in 2022, Russian forces occupied large areas of Ukraine's agricultural south. Kyiv accused Russia of stealing its grain and destroying it.

The SBU stated that the captain and twelve crew members assisted Russia in exporting Ukrainian grain from the occupied southern part of the country to the Middle East, for sale by Russia.

The SBU stated that the investigation was ongoing in order to determine all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the crime, as well as identify any other individuals involved.

It said that the captain, who is a South Caucasus national, could be sentenced to up to five-years in prison for violating travel regulations governing Ukraine's Russian occupied territories.

The Odesa region hub is a major player in Ukraine's Black Sea Exports. It has been revived without Russia’s consent after Moscow reneged on a UN-brokered agreement last summer, which had allowed Kyiv export food during its war with Russia.

Ukraine has not revealed the last time it intercepted a vessel, although they claim that Russia has been trading grain stolen from Ukraine since 2022 began.

A source from law enforcement said, "This policy is ours." When asked if the Ukrainian policy had changed, she replied, "This policy is ours." The captain and vessel were working for the occupiers, and now they entered Ukrainian waters. "And we had an instant reaction." Reporting by Anastasiia Melenko and Tom Balmforth, Editing by Tom Balmforth, Arun Koyyur

(source: Reuters)