The Pillage of Ukrainian Agricultural Assets

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reports emerged about the pillaging and occupation of farms, agricultural products, and agribusinesses. After failing to take Kyiv in April 2022, Russia occupied most of the territory of four
oblasts: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk, in addition to Crimea, which had been occupied since 2014. During the early days of the occupation, Russian armed forces and paramilitary groups inspected and, sometimes, took over agricultural facilities,
including those that stored grain and other products, vehicles, and valuable equipment. Soon after, the Russian occupying authorities began re-registering Ukrainian businesses in the Russian legal sphere and redistributing so-called “ownerless” businesses and their
properties to Russian companies. This brief illustrates this pattern of appropriation and discusses its legal implications in the Luhansk Oblast.

 

Since early 2022, Project Expedite Justice (PEJ) has supported small-scale Ukrainian agrarian farmers and larger entities in their quest to document international crimes and harms and help them access accountability mechanisms. These acts include attacks against the civilian population, destruction of civilian property and infrastructure, pillaging, plunder of resources, improper mining, destruction of the environment, sanctions violations, and related issues. PEJ’s Ukraine work centers on capacitation, investigations, and legal filings. Direct investigative activities and information collection support judicial cases and sanction submissions.

 

The present report focusing on the Luhansk Oblast is the third in a series of six reports, each detailing the timeline and modus operandus of the policy of pillage that Russian occupying authorities executed in Ukraine-occupied territories.