Russian-backed parts of southern Ukraine to sell grain to Middle Eastern countries

The planned deals include sales to Iraq, Iran and Saudia Arabia, according to Russian state media

Ukraine exported £10.14bn worth of grain in 2021 (AP)

Russian-backed authorities in parts of southern Ukraine have said they are going to start selling grain abroad, mainly to the Middle East, as part of a new trade agreement.

The planned deals include sales to Iraq, Iran and Saudia Arabia. The head of the Russian-installed administration in the region, Yevgeny Balitsky, is reported to have said that a contract is in place to supply 150,000 tonnes of grain to Iran.

Authorities in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, which is partially under Russian control, said that they had now reached an agreement to ship grain abroad, Moscow’s state news agency Tass reported.

Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain.

The war in Ukraine has significantly disrupted the country’s grain exports via the Black Sea, and prompted fears of a worldwide food crisis.

Before the invasion, grain was one of Ukraine’s main industries, with exports totalling £10.14bn in 2021.

The country has been struggling to export grain because of the fighting, with its ports blocked and its railway system unable to cope with the extra volume.

Ukraine has accused Russia of seizing grain from territories occupied by the Russian army.

The deputy head of Ukraine’s agricultural producers’ union said that Russia had stolen around 600,000 tonnes of the foodstuff from occupied Ukrainian territory.

A Russian soldier stands guard in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine (AP)

Speaking last month, Denys Marchuk said: “To date, about 600,000 tonnes have been stolen from agricultural companies and taken to the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimean peninsula, and from there it moves to ports, in particular to Sevastopol, and from there, ships go to the Middle East.”

It was reported in June that the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic would start rail shipments to Russia of grain that its troops had “liberated”.

The agricultural minister of the Luhansk People’s Republic, Yuri Pronko, told Tass that the first shipment was a “historical moment”.

Members of a pro-Kremlin youth organisation wave the flag of the Luhansk People’s Republic as they celebrate the announcement by Russian authorities that Moscow has full control of the Luhansk region (AP)

He added: “The first wagons of grain will go to Russia: 50 wagons, more than 3,000 tonnes.”