Russia has plundered the occupied territories of Ukraine looting the wheat crop worth around $1 billion, Bloomberg reports based on the NASA Harvest research.
Russia took out all the wheat harvested in the occupied regions of Ukraine, according to the research based on the data by NASA’s food security and agriculture program. The research uses a machine-learning model detecting texture and color changes on the NASA’s satellite images to put on map the areas where crops have been harvested or left unharvested.
Russian occupiers have harvested up to six million tons of Ukrainian wheat, which is around 88% of winter crops sown on the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. The unharvested areas are mostly located along the front line, where heavy fighting is currently under way.
Almost a quarter of the Ukrainian wheat grows on the lands occupied and annexed by the Russian Federation. The research estimates the Ukrainian wheat crop only, and does not include other crops or foods that are stored at warehouses on the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Russian ships export the looted Ukrainian grain to a number of countries, including Libya and Iran. It is difficult to estimate the volumes of the stolen wheat crop because the shippers tend to conceal the origin of their cargo.
According to the NASA Harvest research, Ukrainian farmers have harvested 26.6 million tons of wheat this year. As of 2 December 2022, Ukraine has exported 18.08 tons of wheat crop, Korespondent reports.
Related:
- “Grain Initiative” ensuring export of Ukrainian food to the world market prolonged for another 4 months
- Russian soldiers continue to loot Kherson Oblast
- Russian soldiers looting as they flee Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts
