Kadyrov Foundation facilitates export of grain from occupied Ukraine to Syria

Center for Occupation Studies head Petro Andriushchenko reported the information.

Andriushchenko noted that this week, a freight train carrying Ukrainian grain from Donetsk was spotted heading toward the port of Rostov-on-Don.

“Most of the grain Russia stole from Ukraine in 2022–2024 was shipped by sea through Syrian ports. After the Assad regime collapsed, grain shipments via Syria stopped, and Russians began searching for alternative markets - like Egypt and Turkey - but volumes dropped,” said the head of the Center for Occupation Studies.

However, on April 20, a new shipment arrived in Latakia (Syria’s main port city), according to Andryushchenko. The 6,600-ton delivery was organized by the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation.

“According to various open sources, the head of the Chechen Republic pledged to supply Syria with the necessary amount of wheat. The conditions of the delivery remain unknown,” he emphasized.

He also noted that the grain’s origin was not disclosed.

“However, it's important to consider the overall drop in yield last year. According to Rosstat, excluding the newly ‘annexed’ regions, Russia harvested 125.9 million tons of grain in 2024, including 82.6 million tons of wheat, 19 and 9.8 million tons less, respectively, than in 2023. The occupied territories (excluding Crimea) produced 3.9 million tons of grain, also showing a decline,” Petro Andriushchenko emphasized.

He added, “It’s the grain from the occupied territories that allows Russia to continue exporting without pushing its own economy into crisis. And given Kadyrov’s influence over all occupied territories and partial control of the agricultural sector, it’s no surprise that he is the one ensuring these supplies.”

“It’s also unsurprising that prices and terms remain undisclosed, because the cost of grain production in the occupied territories is practically zero, due to zero investment. Unless we count the cost of war as an investment. That’s why truck convoys from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions aren’t decreasing. It’s now clear who they’re for, and why they go to Rostov-on-Don (not exclusively, but in part). Because Rostov-on-Don is the closest and largest grain transshipment hub. And shortly after, this Ukrainian grain ends up in Syria,” Andriushchenko concluded.

• Earlier, the National Resistance Center reported that the Russians allocated 5 billion rubles to transport Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region to Russia.