Russians allocate billions of rubles for the removal of Ukrainian grain from the Donbas and Southern Ukraine

Russia is allocating billions of rubles to subsidize the rail transport of agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Under the guise of state support for carriers, the occupation authorities are creating additional opportunities for the removal of Ukrainian agricultural produce.

Between January and July, 8.3 billion rubles were paid out to recipients of this financial support. During this period, 2.7 million tons of cargo were transported at preferential rates.

Furthermore, an additional 9.7 billion rubles has been allocated from the Russian federal budget. The relevant agency states that these funds will facilitate the transport of at least 5 million tons of produce.

Statements from the Russian side refer to the so-called “Donbas and Novorossiya”—territories that Russia has temporarily occupied and illegally incorporated. Thus, the Russian authorities are not only controlling the agricultural resources of the seized regions but are also financing the logistics infrastructure required to remove them.

At the same time, the Russian agency does not specify what portion of the transported produce originates specifically from the occupied territories of Ukraine, nor does it identify the owners of this cargo.