Ukraine charges Russian ship captain in absentia with war crime over export of 54,000 tonnes of stolen grain
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General have notified the Russian captain of the cargo vessel MATROS POZYNICH in absentia of suspicion of a war crime for exporting more than 54,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain from occupied Sevastopol to the Syrian port of Latakia. Acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalsky said the case marks the first time Ukraine has classified the export of stolen grain as a war crime, with the legal approach developed jointly with international experts.
Key points
- Captain of the Russian cargo vessel MATROS POZYNICH notified of suspicion in absentia on 19 October
- Suspect is a Russian citizen; charged under Part 1 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code (violation of the laws and customs of war)
- 54,374 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat were exported on two voyages: 27,074 tonnes in November 2022 and 27,300 tonnes in January 2023
- Route ran from the closed port of occupied Sevastopol to the Syrian port of Latakia, with the cargo disguised as Russian-origin produce
- To conceal movements, the captain periodically switched off the vessel's AIS and transmitted false location data
- Acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalsky said this is the first case in Ukraine in which the export of stolen grain has been qualified as a war crime
- Legal and evidentiary approach was developed jointly by the Office of the Prosecutor General, the SBU, and international experts
Why it matters
The case sets a legal precedent: it is the first time Ukraine has classified the export of stolen grain from occupied territory as a war crime. By targeting a ship captain rather than only those who seize property on the ground, prosecutors have widened the circle of potential accountability to include maritime facilitators. The two voyages moved more than 54,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat disguised as Russian cargo to Syria, and Ukrainian investigators link the operation to the highest political level in Russia, pointing to the scale and political character of the alleged looting from occupied Crimea.
What happened
On Monday, 19 October, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General announced that the Russian captain of the cargo vessel MATROS POZYNICH had been notified in absentia of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war. According to the investigation, the captain facilitated the export of more than 54,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat that had been unlawfully seized in occupied territory. The vessel made two voyages from the closed port of Sevastopol — 27,074 tonnes in November 2022 and 27,300 tonnes in January 2023, totaling 54,374 tonnes — to the Syrian port of Latakia, with the cargo presented as Russian-origin produce. To hide the route and entries into occupied Crimea, the captain periodically switched off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and transmitted false information about the vessel's position. The captain was charged under Part 1 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code (violation of the laws and customs of war) alongside Article 332-1 (violation of the order of entry to temporarily occupied territory). Acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalsky said the qualification as a war crime is the first of its kind in Ukraine and that the case goes beyond a single suspect: investigators are working to identify other participants in the scheme.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All of the sources for this story are Ukrainian media, and they uniformly present the case from the perspective of Ukrainian law-enforcement and prosecutorial authorities. Coverage emphasizes the milestone character of the decision — the first time Ukraine has qualified the export of stolen grain as a war crime — and frames the in absentia notice against the Russian captain as an act of accountability for crimes committed in occupied territory. Outlets centre the actions of the SBU and the Office of the Prosecutor General, quote Acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalsky, and stress that the evidentiary and legal framework was built jointly with international experts.
Where reporting differs
Ukrainian sources disagree on which part of Article 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was applied alongside Part 1 of Article 438. Some outlets, including NV, Ukrainska Pravda, and LIGA.net LB.ua, report Part 2; others, cited via Novynarnia, report Part 3. The discrepancy concerns a technical legal point and does not affect the core facts of the case.
Background
Sevastopol has been outside Ukrainian government control since 2014 and was further affected by Russia's full-scale invasion. The Geneva Conventions prohibit the plunder of property in occupied territory, and the case invokes these rules as the legal basis for the war-crime qualification. Disabling a vessel's Automatic Identification System (AIS) and transmitting false positions is a recognised method for obscuring ship movements in sanctions-evasion and contraband cases. Ukraine has pursued accountability for the alleged illegal export of grain from occupied territories as part of its broader war-crimes investigation effort.