Clandestine warehouses with more than 160,000 tonnes of Ukrainian iron ore belonging to the company of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov have been discovered on the territory of several seaports of Ukraine, the property has been seized, the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has said.

"The security service continues to identify and block the assets of representatives of pro-Kremlin corporations involved in financing the war against Ukraine. As a result of investigative and operational actions, together with the Economic Security Bureau detectives, the location of underground warehouses of Russia, where more than 160,000 tonnes of Ukrainian iron ore were stored," the SBU said in the Telegram channel on Tuesday.

According to the SBU, iron ore was discovered on the territory of several seaports of Ukraine, and the total value of the seized minerals is about UAH 2 billion.

"It has been established that the found batch of iron ore belongs to the company of the Russian oligarch, who is in the inner circle of the highest military-political leadership of the Kremlin, Alisher Usmanov," the service said.

The SBU reminds that since February 24, 2022, sanctions have been imposed on the Russian oligarch by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the United States and the European Union.

"According to operational information, representatives of the aggressor country tried to illegally transport the hidden raw materials by sea to the territory of Russia. After that, they planned to transfer the minerals to the needs of the metallurgical industry and the military-industrial complex of Russia to meet the needs of Russian occupational groups," the SBU said.

According to the SBU materials, property was seized and the issue of its transfer to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) is being decided.

Investigative and operational actions were carried out by SBU officers together with detectives from the Economic Security Bureau under the procedural leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office.