More than 500,000 tons of wheat has been sent to Syria from Russian-annexed Crimea in the last year, 17 times more than the over 28,000 tons imported by Syria the previous year. Syria’s imported grain from Russia makes up about one-third of its grain imports, Reuters reported. Both Russia and Syria are under US sanctions and they have been conducting their trade relations under the radar. At least three of the Syrian vessels that are transporting the grain currently are under US sanctions.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014; it invaded Ukraine in February in a continuing conquest. It is believed that some of the grain being shipped from Crimea was stolen from Ukraine by Russia. Crimea’s Russia-installed administration said 1.4 million tons of wheat were harvested from fields in Crimea.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said in June that Crimean ports had been used to export grain from Zaporizhzhia, but also said that farmers would be paid through company set up by his administration, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s Interfax news agency.
Russia has since 2015 operated in Syria fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country’s long-running civil war.