Ukraine has imposed sanctions on 56 vessels that illegally entered temporarily occupied Ukrainian ports and exported food products between 2022 and 2025. The President’s official website reported on November 25 that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree implementing the corresponding decision of the National Security and Defense Council.
The targeted vessels transported thousands of tons of Ukrainian wheat, sunflower seeds, and other food products from the closed ports of Sevastopol and Feodosia, both temporarily occupied by Russia, to foreign markets. Many of these ships are already under sanctions by the European Union, the United States, and Switzerland.
These vessels sailed not only under the Russian flag: 17 of them operated under the flags of other countries. Ukraine plans to cooperate with these states to prevent the issuance of new licenses for such operations.
Officials said that individuals involved in these prohibited logistics operations profited financially and contributed taxes to the Russian state budget, helping finance Russia’s war effort.
