The Pillage of Ukrainian Agricultural Assets

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, extensive evidence has shown the occupation of farms, seizure of harvests, and appropriation of agribusinesses across several regions. Russian forces also targeted agricultural storage and transport infrastructure beyond areas they controlled. Since early 2022, Project Expedite Justice (PEJ) has worked with Ukrainian farmers and agrarian enterprises to document these violations, including attacks on civilians, destruction of property, pillage, environmental harms, and sanctions violations, and to support accountability efforts through capacity building, investigations, and legal submissions. 

 

This report, the fifth in a six-part series, focuses on Mykolaiv Oblast, which Russia partially occupied between March and November 2022 but failed to control long-term. Despite the brief occupation, PEJ documented numerous cases of large-scale appropriations of agricultural goods, machinery, and equipment by Russian forces, indicating a systematic effort to extract as much produce as possible. The report outlines the timeline and methods of this pillage, analyzes specific incidents between March and October 2022, and identifies the Russian military units operating in affected settlements.