The Russians have registered hundreds of companies through which grain is stolen in the occupied territories of Ukraine

As of February 2022, 892 agricultural companies were registered in the occupied territories of Ukraine. More than half of them were opened by entrepreneurs from Russian regions.

Russians who came to the occupied territories are opening companies to steal Ukrainian grain, journalists write. Among these companies, they found at least one owned by 43-year-old Elbek Zaiev from Chechnya. His brother Ali Zaiyev is among the security forces close to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The company “Agro 24” was registered by Elbek Zaiev in February 2024. It is located in the village of Askania-Nova, Kherson region, and, according to the documents, it is engaged in the cultivation of grain crops, wholesale grain trade and other types of agricultural activities. It is still difficult to find out how much Zaiyev “earned” from stealing grain from the occupied territories, because the company has not yet published financial statements, and settlements are most often made in cash.