A Turkish company is buying grain from occupied Mariupol.

Turkish company Erisler , a supplier to the UN World Food Programme , may purchase Ukrainian grain exported from temporarily occupied Mariupol through the Russian company Nika .

This is stated in the investigation by Investigation.Info .

What journalists established

According to the investigation, in 2023–2024, Nika shipped more than 54,000 tons of wheat from occupied Mariupol to Turkey .

The company’s owner is Roman Gurov , who also heads the sanctioned company Roboavia . It produces reconnaissance and attack drones for the Russian army.

According to a source in Russian customs, Nika exported 15,500 tons of wheat (worth $3.7 million) to Turkey and Egypt in 2023. In 2024, volumes nearly quadrupled to 59,500 tons worth $12.9 million.

The product documentation indicated that the production facilities were located in occupied Mariupol.

Logistics and supply

According to customs declarations, the recipient of the grain was Global Commodities and Logistics Limited , but the final recipient of some of the cargo was Erisler.

Journalists also established that in April 2024, the Alfa M vessel, which is under Ukrainian sanctions, transported more than 7,800 tons of wheat from Mariupol to the Russian port of Temryuk, from where the grain was sent to Turkey.

In the documents, Mariupol was indicated as a Russian city.

Companies’ reactions

Erisler did not respond to journalists’ inquiries. Global Commodities stated that it operates in accordance with international standards and denies purchasing grain from Mariupol.

The investigation also notes that laboratory testing of one of the wheat batches was carried out by the Ukrainian representative office of the international company Cotecna in Odessa .

Russia previously officially included the occupied ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk in the list of “open” ports for foreign vessels . This decision is aimed at facilitating the large-scale export of looted grain, coal, and metal from the temporarily seized territories of Ukraine, allowing the Kremlin to legitimize the illegal export of Ukrainian resources to global markets.

As is known, the Kremlin plans to increase the share of stolen grain from occupied regions of Ukraine in Russia’s overall harvest due to unfavorable conditions in Russia itself. This year, Russia is expecting a “compact harvest” due to drought, sanctions, and limited access to machinery, and grain sales in June have already fallen by 34.5%.

Let us recall that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has removed 15 million tons of Ukrainian grain from the occupied territories.

Also follow “Pryamy” on Facebook , X , Telegram and Instagram.