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Captain prosecuted in absentia, more people arrested
Ukraine’s Security Service and Prosecutor General’s Office were proceeding with the case against the Russian captain of the 'Matros Pozynich', Mykola Telagin, 54, who has been accused of controlling the ship transporting stolen grain from Crimea. According to the investigation, the grain export was carried out by the decision of the top political leadership of the aggressor country. Such actions violate the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the theft of property in occupied territories,” said the SBU. The investigation confirmed that the vessel, which was sold in 2022 to Russian interests, with its flag moved from the Marshall Islands to Russia, had transported more than 54,000 tons of grain that they assert was taken from Ukrainian farmers. One shipment of over 27,000 tons was transported in November 2022, and the second load consisting of 27,300 tons was transported in January 2023. Both shipments were taken out of Crimea and delivered to Latakia. The investigation indicated that the captain periodically turned off the AIS and transmitted inaccurate information about the vessel’s location. They asserted the wheat was presented as if it had come from Russia. Investigators of the Security Service informed the captain in absentia of the charges on suspicion of a violation of the laws and customs of war and violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine with the aim of causing harm to the interests of the state, committed by an organised group. It was the first time Ukraine has charged a captain with a war crime for his role in the export of grain. Investigators continued to dig into the case were are looking for further accomplices. In a separate development, they also reported on Oct 19 that two pesons were arrested in Odesa on charges of aiding Russia to transport stolen grain through the Port of Mariupol for sale to third countries. They had helped Russia hide the origin of stolen agricultural products worth over $1.3 million. The report alleged that in 2024, the smugglers loaded 7,857 tons of Ukrainian wheat onto the sanctioned m/v 'Alpha M' (IMO: 9419084 ), now sailing as 'Irkutsk', in the port of Mariupol. From there, the stolen cargo was transported to Temryuk, Krasnodar Territory, where fictitious documents were issued stating that the grain was of Russian origin. After that, the agricultural products were delivered to the Middle East for further sale through a local exporting company. During searches of their homes and the company's office, computer equipment, mobile phones, documentation, and forged laboratory reports containing evidence of crimes were reportedly discovered. The two men were placed in detention and faced up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. Several similar cases have been filed, and Ukraine has seized a few smaller cargo ships on charges of entering the closed ports of occupied Crimea or transporting grain and other materials out of the region.
Russian captain charged for transporting stolen Ukrainian grain
Ukraine filed papers in court in mid-September 2026, seeking to prosecute the Russian captain of the' Matros Pozynich' on charges of transporting grain from the closed port of Sevastopol to Syria. According to the court papers, the captain, Mykola Telagin, aged 54, was in command between 2022 and 2024 of a the Russian-flagged bulkcarrier, notorious for transporting grain that Ukraine asserts is being stolen from the temporarily occupied Crimea and shipped from the closed port of Sevastopol. The Security Service of Ukraine assembled the indictment after a long investigation into the actions of the captain and the bulkcarrier. They charged that the captain organised and managed the movement of the cargo, while being aware of the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. The European Union placed an embargo on the ports of Crimea after the Russian annexation of the region. Tracking operations have spotted the bulker in Sevastopol, Syria, Egypt, and Turkey. The charges were related to a shipment of 27,000 metric tons of wheat grown in the Donetsk region, currently occupied by Russia, to the port of Latakia in Nov 2022. There was a second shipment of 27,300 tons documented in January 2023. Ukraine asserted that the captain managed the entry of the vessel into Sevastopol on these occasions. He also controlled the acceptance of the cargo and managed its transport. They accused him of representing the cargo as being of Russian origin. In addition, they asserted the bulker turned off its AIS transponderr, and at times also displayed “unreliable” or false route information. While the court papers only highlighted these two specific instances, observers reported that the vessel has continued in this operation. In April, it loaded 27,500 tons of wheat at the Avlita grain terminal in Crimea and proceeded to Latakia. The AIS transmission disguised the shipment as coming from Iskenderun. The bulkcarrier has also been reported to have transported cargo from Turkey to Sevastopol. The EU sanctioned the vessel in Dec 2025. It has also been sanctioned by Ukraine, Canada, and Switzerland.
Bulk carriers detected while transporting grain from occupied Ukrainian territories to Iran
The 'Mikhail Nenashev' is one of about 10 ships engaged in grain transport from occupied territories in Ukraine, as Russian ships are increasingly loading grain from Crimea and other occupied areas in Ukraine. Most grain, coming from Mariupol, Berdiansk and Azov in southeastern Ukraine, goes to Iran. The grain from Ukraine is subject to the sanctions that Western countries have declared, Russian grain is not. In some cases the grain is transported directly to Iran, in other cases it is loaded into smaller ships and loaded onto larger bulk carriers in the Kerch Strait between Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia via ship-to-ship transshipment. That shows how the effect of the sanctions can be reversed. While the Russians regularly bomb terminals in Izmail and Neri, from which Ukrainian grain is exported, Ukrainian grain is smuggled from Sevastopol. The 'Mikhail Nenashev' was detected while en route to the Russian port of Kavkaz. The AIS signal disappeared at an anchorage south of Crimea. A few days later, a satellite photo showed a completely identical ship loading at the Avlita terminal in Odesa. The vessel was then filmed as it transited the Bosphorus and was eventually photographed again when it lay with its hatches open in the port of Bandar Khomeni. In other cases, the AIS signal disappeared north of Cyprus and reappeared several weeks later, while the ship was sailing north in the Black Sea. On the whole 10 bulk carriers are regularly involved in these types of shipments. In addition to the 'Mikhail Nenashev', these included the 'Matros Shevchenko', 'Matros Koshka' and 'Matros Pozynich', currently sailing to Syria and Iran. Grain was also supplied to Turkey in the first year of the Putin war. And while the transports initially all went via Sevastopol, it has been shown that ships now also depart from the ports of Feodosia, Mariupol, Berdjansk and Kerch. Syrian ships have also been regularly spotted at grain terminals in Sevastopol.
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