Russia Banned Ships Carrying Stolen Russian Grain From Entering Tartus Port Before Assad's Overthrow

For years, the Russians used the seized Syrian port of Tartus to transship stolen Ukrainian grain, but the Kremlin ordered ships not to enter the port even before the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

This was reported by the CFTS portal, citing information from the Center for National Resistance.

"The decision was initiated by the Russian dictator who, instead of supporting his ally, recognized his defeat in advance and decided not to risk the 'grain'," the Center for National Resistance said in a statement.

According to the statement, Assad's inner circle, which profited from Ukrainian grain, incurred significant financial losses, as the Kremlin deprived the regime of food and currency. In addition, the order to avoid the port further demoralized the dictator's army and hastened his downfall, the statement said.

As the CFTS portal reported, in August 2022, Ukrainian Ambassador to Lebanon Ihor Ostash announced that he had received confirmation that the Syrian ship Laodicea, detained by Lebanese authorities, was transporting flour produced in Russian-occupied Crimea from wheat stolen in the Zaporizhia region.

"We have just received incontrovertible evidence that the flour Laodicea was carrying came not from Russia, but from occupied Crimea. It is Krasnohvardiiske (urban-type settlement Krasnohvardiiske, Crimea). The second photo shows the tracking of the wheat from occupied Berdiansk to Krasnohvardiiske," Ostash wrote.

He also posted a photograph of sacks of flour with "Krasnogvardeysky Elevator LLC" listed as the manufacturer and a document with information showing that the wheat was delivered by road from Berdiansk to Krasnohvardiiske.

As the CFTS portal reported earlier, Ostash requested at a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on 28 July 2022 that the Lebanese authorities take measures to clarify the circumstances of the presence in Lebanese territorial waters of a Syrian vessel that was loaded with barley taken from occupied Ukrainian territories in the port of Feodosia.

The embassy said in a statement that Ukrainian law enforcement officials had proven the involvement of 78 ships in the illegal transportation of stolen Ukrainian grain and that the list of ships involved was constantly being updated. The list included the Laodicea, which had been ordered to be detained by a Ukrainian court.