FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

Posted On

08
September
2022

Ukrainian prosecutor's office notifies two more captains of Russian ships about suspicion of illegal export of grain via Crimea

KYIV. Sept 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Under the procedural leadership of the prosecutor’s office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, two more captains of Russian vessels involved in the illegal transportation of Ukrainian grain from Crimea to third countries by the occupiers were notified of suspicion, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has reported.

"According to investigators, the captains of the Matros Koshka and Amur-2501 vessels under the flag of the Russian Federation made six illegal entries and exits from the closed Sevastopol Sea Trade Port. The suspects ensured the loading of ships with grain, which representatives of the aggressor country illegally exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and its transportation to third countries," the PGO said in a report on its Telegram channel on Thursday.

The PGO said that, understanding the unlawfulness of their actions, the captains of the vessels from time to time turned off the AIS automatic identification system and entered fictitious information about the course of the vessels into it.

"They were allegedly sent to the ports of the Russian Federation, and not to the closed seaports of the occupied Crimea," the PGO said.

The suspects were charged with violating the procedure for entering the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimean peninsula and leaving it (Part 2 of Article 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).