Ambassador of Ukraine to Lebanon Ihor Ostash reported receiving confirmation that the Syrian vessel Laodicea, detained by the Lebanese authorities, was carrying flour made in the occupied Crimea from wheat stolen in the town of Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region, occupied by Russia.

"We have just received unconditional evidence that the flour that Laodicea was carrying was not from Russia, but from the occupied Crimea. This is Krasnohvardiyske [Krasnohvardiyske village in Crimea]. And the second photo is transportation of wheat from occupied Berdiansk to Krasnohvardiyske," Ostash wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

At the same time, he published a photo of bags of flour, on which Krasnohvardiysky elevator was indicated as the manufacturer", as well as a document with information indicating the supply of wheat from Berdiansk to Krasnohvardiyske by road.

As reported, the ship Laodicea, carrying agricultural products stolen in the occupied territories of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, was detained in the port of Tripoli (Lebanon) on July 31 after an appeal from the Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon, as reported by the International Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBCI), as well as Ambassador Ihor Ostash.

On the same day, the Lebanese ezine An-Nahar reported that "during the Russian occupation, more than 500,000 tonnes of grain were stolen from the occupied Kherson, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv regions," adding that "there were attempts to ship most of this grain to the Middle East, including Egypt, Turkey and Syria, and attempts to transfer to Lebanon were recorded."

The embassy statement said that Ukrainian law enforcement officers proved the involvement of 78 vessels in the illegal transportation of stolen Ukrainian grain, and this list is constantly updated. The same applies to Laodicea, which was arrested by the decision of the Ukrainian court and is under U.S. sanctions.