The video sheds light on the suspected smuggling operations involving stolen Ukrainian grain by Russian ships. Through satellite imagery and testimony from a Russian truck driver, the video outlines how trucks transport grain from occupied territories in Ukraine to Crimea, where the grain is subsequently loaded onto ships.

The investigation reveals a carefully crafted smuggling route extending from Southeastern Ukraine to Crimea, involving Russian military and civilian truck drivers. The grain is then transported via ships to destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean, potentially impacting global food supplies and leading to accusations of war crimes.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. transponder [trænˈspɒndər] - (n.) - A device for receiving and sending out radio signals, often used in ships and aircraft for tracking and identification purposes. - Synonyms: (transmitter, radio beacon, responder)

Satellite images paired with ship tracking data from marine traffic show these same ships running regular routes from Crimea to the eastern Mediterranean since at least late March, often shutting off their transponders as they approach ports.

2. smuggling [ˈsmʌɡlɪŋ] - (n.) - The illegal movement of goods into or out of a country. - Synonyms: (trafficking, bootlegging, illegal trading)

Russian officials have rejected such accusations, but we found these three ships are part of a smuggling route that Russia has been developing to transport stolen grain.

3. convoy [ˈkɒnvɔɪ] - (n.) - A group of vehicles or ships traveling together, often for protection. - Synonyms: (caravan, fleet, procession)

The russian driver said his convoy of trucks with stolen grain drove to Crimea on May 21 or 22nd.

4. obstructing [əbˈstrʌktɪŋ] - (v.) - Blocking or closing a path or passage, hindering a process. - Synonyms: (blocking, hindering, impeding)

Russia has done this all while obstructing Ukraine from exporting its own grain and seeds.

5. institutionalize [ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃənəˌlaɪz] - (v.) - To establish as a norm or conventional in an organization or culture, often through systematic means. - Synonyms: (standardize, formalize, systematize)

The frequency of thefts at grain facilities, combined with the repetition of these vessels journeys and the sheer number of trucks traveling into Crimea, shows that Russia is working quickly to institutionalize its grain smuggling network.

6. accusations [ˌækjuˈzeɪʃənz] - (n.) - Charges or claims that someone has done something illegal or wrong. - Synonyms: (allegation, charge, indictment)

Russian officials have rejected such accusations, but we found these three ships are part of a smuggling route...

7. annexation [ˌænɛkˈseɪʃən] - (n.) - The act of attaching or incorporating land, usually by conquest. - Synonyms: (seizure, occupation, takeover)

Ukraines access to export routes out of Crimea has been largely cut off since the 2014 annexation.

8. diplomat [ˈdɪpləmæt] - (n.) - An official representing a country abroad; often involved in negotiations and foreign relations. - Synonyms: (envoy, ambassador, consul)

according to a senior european diplomat who viewed the cable.

9. pro war symbol [proʊ wɔr ˈsɪmbəl] - (n.) - A marker or sign indicating support or aggression towards war. - Synonyms: (battle sign, militant emblem)

At one of the facilities where grain was taken, we can see that a z, a russian pro war symbol, has been marked on the roof.

10. concealed [kənˈsiːld] - (adj.) - Kept secret or hidden. - Synonyms: (hidden, camouflaged, veiled)

In photos from the facility that appear to be from early May, reviewed by the journal, we see trucks covered with tarps, zs on the front, and concealed license plates.

Russia Is Using a Secret Network to Steal Ukrainian Grain - WSJ

This satellite image from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea on May 21 shows trucks lined up near a Russian ship loading stolen Ukrainian grain. A Russian soldier who drove one of the trucks around this time explained the details of the smuggling operation. Left truck outside port we can ship finish two ships, two big ships. No more, please. I cannot speak no more.

In May, the US State Department sent cables to several countries stating that three Russian ships, the Matros Poznic, Matroskoshka and Mikhail Nanashev, were suspected of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, according to a senior European diplomat who viewed the cable. Russian officials have rejected such accusations, but we found these three ships are part of a smuggling route that Russia has been developing to transport stolen grain out of newly occupied areas of Ukraine and into Russian allied countries in the Middle East.

We analyzed telegram posts, satellite imagery and ship transponder data, reviewed documents, and interviewed people involved in the solicit trade to reveal a 1500 miles smuggling route. That gives us a window into the broader network Russia has quietly assembled to transport hundreds of thousands of metric tons of grain out of Ukraine. Russia has done this all while obstructing Ukraine from exporting its own grain and seeds, up to 70 million metric tons per year, a large slice of the world's supply, much of which flows to the developing world.

In recent weeks, Ukraine said Turkey detained a Russian ship with stolen Ukrainian grain, while accusations of war crimes and fears of a global food crisis have mounted. The main route we uncovered starts in southeastern Ukraine in the occupied city of Kamyunka Neprowska, at one of the largest grain storage facilities in the region, run by a company we aren't naming, we found evidence of dozens of Russian controlled trucks transporting grain from this facility since early May.

The driver we interviewed, a soldier in the Russian army who said he doesn't want to fight in the war, told us that in late May, a Russian colonel ordered him to pick up a load of grain at this facility. We have many trucks, 15 trucks. I had wide gamma truck and I came in the morning May 20 122 Colonel put trucks up online. We took wheat in drive out. Each truck can move around ten to 50 metric tons of grain in a single haul.

In photos from the facility that appear to be from early May, reviewed by the journal, we see trucks covered with tarps, zs on the front, and concealed license plates. The Russian driver we interviewed confirmed that he and the other drivers in his caravan drove similar trucks less than 2 km from the depot. This photo, posted to Facebook on May 19 by a local resident, shows trucks with the same characteristics tarps and no license plates headed away from the grain storage facility. In satellite imagery from June 11, we see similar vehicles near the grain silos. Three days later, we can see a line of them outside the facility and a few more in the parking lot as well. By June 22, there are over 30 of these trucks visible.

The Russian driver said his convoy of trucks with stolen grain drove to Crimea on May 21 or 22nd. Here on radio we go to Sebastopol many hours, but we also found evidence that another major grain storage facility in the region was taken over by the Russian military. Seen here on March 26, a satellite image from the same date and location shows what appear to be those same tanks. This letter from an official installed by Russian forces informed the company that their property was being seized after the takeover.

The company said they were still able to track their stolen trucks using GPS, which were loaded with grain and also driven into Crimea. At one of the facilities where grain was taken, we can see that a Z, a Russian pro war symbol, has been marked on the roof. In addition to using truck drivers from the Russian army, drivers for these routes are also hired through messages posted to social media, like this May 24 telegram post by a logistics operator advertising nearly 20 truck routes to transport grain, mostly from newly occupied Russian territory in Ukraine to Crimea. This is a route similar to the one our Russian driver took and offers about $30 per ton in payroll.

Ukraine's access to export routes out of Crimea has been largely cut off since the 2014 annexation. Now, in videos published over the last several weeks, we see long lines of trucks heading south into the region. Many resemble the trucks at the grain depot in Kamyaka Neprovska and fit the description given by people involved in the trade. Once in Crimea, the Russian driver said he and the other drivers dropped off the trucks at the Sevastopol port, where many tons of grain were unloaded to conveyor belts and then moved to waiting ships left truck outside port.

In satellite imagery from Sevastopol on May 19, 21st and 23rd, we can see three different ships loading grain, the same ones listed in the State Department. The Matros Pozzenich, Matros Koshka and Mikhail Nanashev were all newly registered in the months before the war to a Russian state-owned company called Crane Marine Contractor LLC, according to a ship company database. Satellite images paired with ship tracking data from marine traffic show these same ships running regular routes from Crimea to the eastern Mediterranean since at least late March, often shutting off their transponders as they approach ports, likely in an effort to conceal their locations.

For example, the Matros Poznich disappears from tracking data near Istanbul on May 17. We then see it being loaded with what looks like grain at the port in Sevastopol. Two days later. The ship's transponder restarts again on May 21 after it departs Sevastopol. Over the next two days, marine traffic data shows it passes through the Bosphorus Strait, which we can see in photos of the waterway from May 22. The ship's tracking is then turned off again as it nears its destination, with its last location reported on May 25 in the Mediterranean Sea between Turkey and Cyprus.

Soon after, in Latakia, Syria, satellite imagery shows the ship docked and its contents being unloaded. Commodity brokers involved in the network say the grain was imported by a Syrian state-run grain company after similar journeys from Sevastopol to the eastern Mediterranean. The Mikhail Nanashev docks in Turkey. The Matros Koshka goes dark for over a week, but reappears as it heads back towards the Black Sea. Crane Marine contractor, LLC and Syria's Ministry of Foreign affairs did not respond to requests for comment.

The Russian embassy in Washington, DC referred us to a prior statement by the Russian ambassador to the US in which he rejected accusations of grain theft. The frequency of thefts at grain facilities, combined with the repetition of these vessels journeys and the sheer number of trucks traveling into Crimea, shows that Russia is working quickly to institutionalize its grain smuggling network. In our last conversation with a Russian truck driver in late June, he said he was waiting to receive orders for his next truck route. I think I drive again for a week. We wait.

Global, Politics, Economics, Grain Smuggling, Crimea, Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal