During the first nine months of 2025, the volume of rail imports from Ukraine’s occupied territories to Belarus nearly equaled the total volume of imports from those territories in the entire 2024. Meanwhile, exports from Belarus to the occupied territories and Crimea more than doubled last year's volume.
According to data from the Belarusian Railway Workers’ Association, shipments from the occupied territories have evolved from sporadic and isolated shipments into a steady and systematic flow of raw materials and industrial inputs for Belarus. Total imports into Belarus via these routes increased from approximately 10,000 tons from 2020 to 2023 to 45,390 tons in 2024. In the first nine months of 2025, imports reached 41,907 tons, practically matching the total volume for all of 2024 while maintaining the growth trend, the CFTS Portal reports.
A defining feature remains the pronounced asymmetry in favor of imports into Belarus. Despite a sharp increase in outbound shipments in 2025, imports into Belarus still vastly exceed exports in terms of both wagons and tons.
During the first three quarters of 2025, 667 wagons (41,907 tons) were dispatched to Belarus, while only 153 wagons (8,648 tons) were dispatched in the opposite direction. The import structure is focused on sustaining the operations of Belarusian industries – the ceramic, metallurgical, machine building, and chemical industries, whereas exports are more auxiliary in nature and consist mainly of construction, infrastructure, and mineral cargoes.
A comparison with 2024 also confirms the consolidation of the established logistics chains. Imports of kaolin, foundry coke, coal tar, steel, and other raw materials into Belarus have not decreased in 2025. On the contrary, they have increased both in volume and in the range of Belarusian enterprises and destination stations involved.
Although exports remain significantly smaller in scale, they have also evolved from sporadic shipments into a more steady and regular flow of goods.
Based on the indicators recorded in the first nine months of this year, it is reasonable to conclude that, by the end of 2025, the volume of imports and exports to Belarus from the occupied territories will far exceed last year's volume.
