WASHINGTON: Russian-flagged ships have been carrying grain harvested in Ukraine last season and transported it to Syria, US satellite imagery company Maxar said on Thursday.
Maxar’s images showed two Russian-flagged bulk carrier ships docked in the Russian-controlled Crimean port of Sevastopol in May and being loaded with grain, the company said.
Days later, Maxar satellites collected images of the same ships docked in Syria, with their hatches open and semi-trucks lined up ready to haul the grain away, Maxar said. Syria and Russia are staunch allies.
The company said another image from June also showed a different ship being loaded with grain in Sevastopol.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from the territories that Russian forces occupied since its invasion began in late February. The war threatens to cause severe food shortages as Russia and Ukraine account for about 29 percent of global wheat exports.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters, and Western countries have accused Russia of creating the risk of global famine by shutting Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
On June 8, the deputy head of Ukrainian agriculture producers union UAC said that Russia has stolen about 600,000 tons of grain from occupied territory and exported some of it.
Russia calls its action in Ukraine a “special military operation” claiming its aim was to disarm and “denazify” its neighbor. The West and Ukraine say this is a pretext for unprovoked aggression.
![]()
Russian-flagged ships transport Ukraine’s grain to Syria, Maxar says
Short Url
https://arab.news/8vydv
Russian-flagged ships transport Ukraine’s grain to Syria, Maxar says
- Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from the territories that Russian forces occupied since its invasion began in late February
- Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters
Children dying from cold as storm batters Gaza, killing 13
- Three children die from exposure as winter rains flood displacement camps
- Wet weather causes war-damaged buildings and walls to collapse, killing 10
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Friday said at least 13 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory.
Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.
With most of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged, thousands of tents and homemade shelters now line areas cleared of rubble.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said six people died when a house collapsed in the Bir Al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
Four others died when walls collapsed in multiple separate incidents, he said.
In a statement, the civil defense said its teams had responded to calls from “13 houses that collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds, mostly in Gaza City and the north.”
No dry clothes
Under gloomy skies in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians used bowls, buckets and hoes to try and remove the water that had pooled around their tents made of plastic sheeting.
Young children, some barefoot and others wearing open sandals, trudged and hopped through ponds of muddy water as the rain continued to fall.
“The mattress has been soaked since this morning, and the children slept in wet bedding last night,” Umm Muhammad Joudah told AFP.
“We don’t have any dry clothes to change into.”
Saif Ayman, a 17-year-old who was on crutches due to a leg injury, said his tent had also been submerged.
“In this tent we have no blankets. There are six of us sleeping on one mattress, and we cover ourselves with our clothes,” he said.
The Hamas-run interior and national security ministry gave a preliminary toll of 14 dead due to the effects of the winter rains since Wednesday.
A ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid entering into the Gaza Strip.
But supplies have entered in insufficient quantities, according to the United Nations, and the humanitarian needs are still immense.
The UN’s World Health Organization warned on Friday that thousands of families were “sheltering in low-lying or debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers.”
“Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, are expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections,” it added.
Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.
With most of Gaza’s buildings destroyed or damaged, thousands of tents and homemade shelters now line areas cleared of rubble.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said six people died when a house collapsed in the Bir Al-Naja area of the northern Gaza Strip.
Four others died when walls collapsed in multiple separate incidents, he said.
In a statement, the civil defense said its teams had responded to calls from “13 houses that collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds, mostly in Gaza City and the north.”
No dry clothes
Under gloomy skies in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians used bowls, buckets and hoes to try and remove the water that had pooled around their tents made of plastic sheeting.
Young children, some barefoot and others wearing open sandals, trudged and hopped through ponds of muddy water as the rain continued to fall.
“The mattress has been soaked since this morning, and the children slept in wet bedding last night,” Umm Muhammad Joudah told AFP.
“We don’t have any dry clothes to change into.”
Saif Ayman, a 17-year-old who was on crutches due to a leg injury, said his tent had also been submerged.
“In this tent we have no blankets. There are six of us sleeping on one mattress, and we cover ourselves with our clothes,” he said.
The Hamas-run interior and national security ministry gave a preliminary toll of 14 dead due to the effects of the winter rains since Wednesday.
A ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas that took effect in October has partially eased restrictions on goods and aid entering into the Gaza Strip.
But supplies have entered in insufficient quantities, according to the United Nations, and the humanitarian needs are still immense.
The UN’s World Health Organization warned on Friday that thousands of families were “sheltering in low-lying or debris-filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers.”
“Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, are expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections,” it added.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.