Ukrainian embassy says Russia ships 'stolen' wheat to Syria

Russia has sent its ally Syria an estimated 100,000 tonnes of wheat stolen from Ukraine since invading the country, the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut said, describing the shipments as "criminal activity," Report informs, citing Reuters.

In a statement to Reuters, the embassy said the shipments included one aboard the Matros Pozynich, a Russian-flagged vessel which docked at Syria's main sea port Latakia in late May.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC on May 29 showed Matros Pozynich docked in Latakia.

"The wheat is stolen from a facility that combines wheat from three Ukrainian regions into one batch," Ukraine's embassy in Lebanon said.

"This is criminal activity," it said, adding that it had tried to reach out to the Syrian authorities but had never received a response.

The embassy said more than 100,000 tonnes of "plundered" Ukrainian wheat had arrived in Syria over the last three months. With international wheat prices above $400 a tonne, such a volume would be worth more than $40 million.

Russia's defence ministry and the Syrian information ministry did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for comment.