Russia brings сombine harvesters from Crimea to harvest Ukrainian crops in the occupied territories

Russia brings сombine harvesters from Crimea to harvest Ukrainian crops in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, announced the "head" of the Russian-occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, on his social media pages.

Aksyonov announced that the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation allegedly handed over 6 grain harvesters to Zaporizhzhia Oblast from enterprises in Dzhankoi. At least 85 units of agricultural machinery are planned to be transferred to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.

"It's no secret that the situation with harvesting in these regions is difficult because some of the machines that worked here were dismantled or taken out of the regions," he said.

How Russian aggression disrupted harvesting in Ukraine

Before the full-scale Russin war, grain from Ukraine helped feed 400 million people worldwide. Now, the supply chain is broken, as the sea export route is inaccessible due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports by the Russian forces. The UN says that this may exacerbate hunger in the world. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not receive billions of dollars due to blocked exports.

At the same time, the Russian occupiers are looting and taking away Ukrainian grain from the occupied territories. It is known that at least 400,000 tons of grain were stolen.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the occupiers created the so-called "State Unitary Company" to organize grain export. The company has set purchase prices for agricultural products producers are categorically not satisfied with. Due to this move, agricultural producers try not to sell the crop but to store it in warehouses. In the absence of free storage, it is stored in other rooms not adapted for this or even in open areas.

In addition, part of the Ukrainian harvest is simply destroyed by fire. For example, in the occupied Kherson Oblast, Russians deliberately do not allow firefighters to extinguish the fire after shelling and destroy grain warehouses, agricultural machinery, and solar power plants. To save at least part of the harvest, people work on machinery next to the severe fires.