Russian invaders continue to export Ukrainian grain to Crimea and Russia - Denisova
Russian troops are exporting grain looted in Ukraine to third countries by sea, including the theft of 30 grain carriers of the private port operator Ascet Shipping from Berdiansk and Mariupol, Liudmyla Denisova, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, wrote on Facebook.
"A car convoy of grain trucks stolen from the Ascet Shipping carrier was seen on the Melitopol highway. Earlier, Ascet Shipping refused to cooperate with the occupiers and transferred its capacities to the west of Ukraine. Berdiansk residents counted more than 30 trucks with trailers filled with grain near the Azovcable plant," she said on social media.
In addition, the occupiers are trying to take out the remaining grain from Mariupol seaport by rail, for which they began to urgently repair the railway track in Mariupol and Sartana station (Donetsk region).
"The Matros Pazinich ship, which had already transported the stolen grain to Syria, returned to the Black Sea and was loaded again. After leaving the Crimean port, this ship indicated the destination port of Beirut in Lebanon," the expert specified.
Denisova recalled that the theft of food from the occupied territories is a violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and a war crime in accordance with Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
"I appeal to the UN Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine to take into account these facts of war crimes and human rights violations of Russia in Ukraine," she summed up on Facebook.
As reported, on May 2, Denisova accused the Russian Federation of deliberately organizing a famine in Ukraine, which the aggressor country is carrying out by stealing agricultural machinery and grain from the occupied territories, as well as destroying granaries.