The Russian occupiers have taken about 500,000 tons of grain from the temporarily occupied territories in the Zaporizhia region since the beginning of 2024. In addition, they plan to take at least 200,000 tons of agricultural products this season.
The head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports, citing the publication USM.
According to Fedorov, the abovementioned 500,000 tons make up one-seventh of the total amount of grain exported by Russia this year.
He noted that 1.8 million hectares of arable land were cultivated in the Zaporizhia region before the start of the full-scale war and that 1.4 million hectares are currently being cultivated, of which 80% are under occupation or in the area of active hostilities.
"The occupiers also took grain from elevators, granaries, and the port of Berdiansk, which had been stored there in previous years. The losses of the Zaporizhia region’s agricultural sector from the theft of grain alone amounted to more than UAH 7 billion in the first year of the occupation," Fedorov said.
According to him, the Russian invaders take Ukrainian agricultural products from the occupied part of the Zaporizhia region to Crimea and the Russian Federation, from where they export them by sea.
