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'Feeding the world' — with stolen food How Russian businesses in occupied Ukraine illegally export their products to foreign investors

Source: Radio Svoboda

Russian entrepreneurs who have taken over businesses in Ukraine’s occupied territories are exporting goods to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, India, and China, according to a new investigation by Pryazovia News, a regional branch of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service. In response to questions from RFE/RL's reporters, a representative from the Russian Export Center revealed that the most commonly exported products are agricultural goods and metals. However, some Ukrainian officials are skeptical of Russia’s biggest export claims, saying Russia had made announcements with the aim of creating the “illusion of economic activity.” Meduza shares an abridged version of the report.

‘Not purchased from the local population — stolen’

Agricultural products are the most commonly exported goods from Russian-owned businesses in the occupied territories in southern Ukraine. According to Denys Chystikov, Ukraine’s deputy presidential representative in Crimea, this practice began shortly after Russian forces seized control of these areas. In most cases, he says, producers were forced to hand over their goods for a fraction of their actual value.

“In reality, it's fair to say that these goods weren’t purchased from the local population — they were stolen,” Chystikov says. “At best, rural residents received about 15 percent of what their products were truly worth.”

Initially, Russia used ports in annexed Crimea to ship the goods. Later, exporters began using ports in Berdyansk and Mariupol, as well.

“At first, the products were transported to Russian territory,” Chystikov explains.

In February 2025, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry reported that 1.5 million metric tons of agricultural products were exported in 2024 from occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region.

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The Kremlin has also turned grain exports from occupied territories into a propaganda tool. According to Kostiantyn Batozsky, director of the Pryazovia Development Agency, these illegal operations are run by individuals close to senior Russian officials.

“This is the occupiers’ pet project,” Batozsky says. “It’s this very grain that Putin flaunts to foreign governments when he claims, ‘We can feed the world.’ And it’s the same grain used in overseas shipments. The operation was previously overseen by [Russian presidential aide and former FSB Director] Nikolai Patrushev's son, who served as agriculture minister under the Mishustin government. His entire role was to legitimize and facilitate the export of grain from our occupied territories. For them, it’s evidence that these regions are being fully integrated into their system.”

Scrap metal from seized factories

On March 18, 2025, officials in occupied Donetsk held a roundtable to discuss boosting exports from the so-called “new territories” — areas Russia has seized since the start of its full-scale invasion. Russian Export Center representative Sergey Agayev noted that alongside agricultural goods, metal products are also being exported from these regions.

In response to a request from journalists, the Russian Export Center said it had supported 31 companies from the so-called “new regions," as the Kremlin refers to the occupied territories, in 2024. The main export destinations reportedly include Russia's fellow CIS countries and China, with the latter receiving finished goods such as confectionery products. However, the Center offered no specifics on what metallurgical goods are being exported from the occupied territories.

According to Kostiantyn Batozsky, the primary export appears to be scrap metal. “That’s what most industrial enterprises are turning into,” he says. “They’re meeting the same fate as Mariupol’s major plants — Azovstal, the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, and Azovmash. Some facilities are still operating as makeshift repair facilities for Russian military equipment, but the rest has been dismantled and hauled off as scrap.”

Most of this scrap metal is sold abroad, Batozsky adds. “[Russia] already has ample steel production capacity and no interest in rebuilding our occupied territories or reviving local factories. They have their own plants in steel and coal — they don’t want any competition,” he explains.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry closely monitors the illegal export of goods from the occupied territories. Diplomats collect information through intelligence channels, open-source research, and media reports, says ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi. When their suspicions are confirmed, they approach foreign governments to urge them not to buy looted goods.

“There have been a few successful cases, like in Egypt, where Russia tried to sell stolen products,” Tykhyi says. “Thanks to diplomatic pressure, those deals were blocked. If direct appeals don’t work, we push for sanctions — including secondary sanctions or other penalties. That usually deters both companies and governments.”

Meanwhile, Russia does its best to obscure the origin of these exports and find new markets. Denys Chystikov says this often involves deceptive practices.

“Based on what we saw in Crimea, they use international trade shows — either in Russia, where they invite foreign delegations, or in countries friendly to them. Among regular Russian goods, they slip in products from occupied territories, offering them at a discount to attract buyers. But it hasn’t been very effective,” Chystikov notes. “When these schemes do succeed, we work with the Foreign Ministry to document the cases and take action to stop them.”

‘Fake investors’

Russia continues to seek foreign companies willing to operate in the Ukrainian territories it occupies. On March 13, officials in the Berdyansk district announced that Indian pharmaceutical industry leaders would build a factory in the region with an annual output of 1.5 million packages.

But Ukrainian lawmaker Yulia Sirko, secretary of the interparliamentary relations group with India, is skeptical of these claims.

“We investigated and consulted every available source,” Sirko says. “According to our information, none of the six Indian pharmaceutical companies currently operating in Russia have signed any agreements involving the occupied territories, including Berdyansk. This announcement is almost certainly fake — intended to create the illusion of economic activity, mislead local residents, and generate false headlines abroad.”

She adds that Ukraine is not aware of Indian companies in any industry doing business in the occupied regions. “We regularly send formal diplomatic notes to all embassies, making clear that no operations — new or existing — can legally function in these territories.”

So far, Russia has managed to attract only a handful of foreign individuals to the occupied areas, not major international companies or state-backed ventures. This includes China, says Kostiantyn Batozsky.

“In reality, Russia is doing everything it can to lure small private actors,” he explains. “There’s an American farmer living in Russian-occupied Donetsk, and a few Chinese nationals. But this isn’t part of any coordinated effort by governments like China or India. Those countries have not recognized the occupation of parts of Donetsk, Kherson, or Zaporizhzhia — they continue to officially support Ukraine’s 1991 borders.”

“With populations in the billions, it's impossible for those governments to track every individual. Many of their citizens study in Russia, settle there, and even hold dual citizenship,” Batozsky adds.

Ukrainian officials have emphasized the immense value of the resources in these occupied areas. According to Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, they contain over $350 billion worth of critical materials. President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously told Reuters that the total value of mineral wealth in the occupied territories is in the trillions of dollars.