KYIV: Kyiv said Thursday that it had seized a foreign cargo ship and detained its captain, alleging that the vessel had illegally exported Ukrainian grain from the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Since Russia’s capture of swaths of agricultural land in Ukraine in early 2022, Kyiv has accused Moscow of illegally harvesting and shipping grain produced on occupied territory to third countries.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said it had “seized” a foreign vessel in the Odesa region that had earlier exported agricultural products via the Crimean port of Sevastopol — a key military hub for Russia in the Black Sea.
The Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) said in a separate statement that it had detained the ship’s captain, accusing him of violating rules on entering occupied territory.
It also claimed that the grain exported by the vessel — Usko Mfu — had been produced in southern Ukraine.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the SBU said, while prosecutors identified the captain as a citizen of Azerbaijan, an ex-Soviet country in the South Caucasus.
Prosecutors said 12 other foreign crew members were also on board at the time of the vessel’s seizure, without elaborating on their nationality or whether they too would face charges.
The Cameroonian-flagged vessel illegally docked at Sevastopol in November 2023 and was loaded with more than 3,000 tons of agricultural products “intended for a Turkish company,” prosecutors said.
“To conceal the illegal activity, the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) was turned off before entering the port of Sevastopol, which is a gross violation of maritime safety requirements,” their statement added.
Prosecutors said the ship returned to Sevastopol a second time in May this year.
It was seized at the Ukrainian port of Reni, they added, where they discovered documents issued by Sevastopol port authorities.
Igor Delanoe — deputy director of the Franco-Russian Observatory — said this was the first time Ukraine had seized an internationally-flagged vessel over the shipments.
“The signal is that they want to make third countries face up to their responsibilities,” he said.
“From the Ukrainian point of view, these countries are supporting Russia by their silence, while at the same time benefiting from grain that Ukrainians consider stolen,” he added.
The European Union in May imposed “prohibitive” duties on grain imports from Russia in a bid to cut off revenues to Moscow for its war on Ukraine.
The bloc’s trade commissioner said the measure would “tackle illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukraine grain into EU markets.”
The head of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia, said Thursday that Russian forces caused fires on dozens of hectares of Ukrainian land growing grain.
He also said that Russian forces had struck a grain storage facility in the region and attacked firefighters who arrived to extinguish the fire with drones.
![]()
Ukraine says seized cargo ship used for Crimea grain exports
Short Url
https://arab.news/5ezgh
Ukraine says seized cargo ship used for Crimea grain exports
- Kyiv has accused Moscow of illegally harvesting and shipping grain produced on occupied territory to third countries
- Prosecutors say 12 other foreign crew members were on board at the time of the vessel’s seizure
Former Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai convicted in landmark national security trial
- Three government-vetted judges on Monday found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles
HONG KONG: Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city’s court on Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Lai, 78, was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, much of it in solitary confinement, Lai has been convicted of several lesser offenses and appears to have grown more frail and thinner.
Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, has been closely monitored by the US, Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Court said Lai spent years plotting against Beijing
Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the US to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.
Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for sanctions before the law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.
But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way.”
Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the conspiracies and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s only intent, both before and after the security law, was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.
“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” they wrote.
Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pressed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.
His verdict is also a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. US President Donald Trump said he has raised the case with China, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.
Lai could face life in prison
The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be sentenced on a later day.
Under the security law, the collusion charge could result in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment, depending on the offense’s nature and his role in it. Hearings were set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.
The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and Beijing, was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.
During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
The prosecution also accused Lai of making such requests, highlighting his meetings with former US Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.
It also presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the court as evidence, as well as social media posts and text messages.
Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the sweeping security law was imposed in June 2020.
His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.
Health concerns raised during marathon trial
As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.
Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. After the verdict, lawyer, Robert Pang, said his client is doing okay as the legal team studies the verdict.
Before the verdict, his daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father has become weaker and lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.
“His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said.
Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai’s complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were adequate.
Steve Li, chief superintendent of Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, welcomed the guilty verdict and disputed claims of Lai’s worsening health.
“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” he told reporters.
Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.
Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know about Lai’s condition after reports of his health.
She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”
Rights groups, including global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, criticized the verdict.
“It is not an individual who has been on trial — it is press freedom itself, and with this verdict that has been shattered,” said Reporters Without Borders’ director general Thibaut Bruttin.
Originally scheduled to start in December 2022, Lai’s trial was postponed to 2023 as authorities blocked a British lawyer from representing him, citing national security risks.
In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over separate fraud charges involving lease violations, in addition to other cases related to the 2019 protests.
Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Lai, 78, was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, much of it in solitary confinement, Lai has been convicted of several lesser offenses and appears to have grown more frail and thinner.
Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, has been closely monitored by the US, Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Court said Lai spent years plotting against Beijing
Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the US to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.
Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for sanctions before the law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.
But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way.”
Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the conspiracies and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s only intent, both before and after the security law, was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.
“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” they wrote.
Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pressed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.
His verdict is also a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. US President Donald Trump said he has raised the case with China, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.
Lai could face life in prison
The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be sentenced on a later day.
Under the security law, the collusion charge could result in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment, depending on the offense’s nature and his role in it. Hearings were set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.
The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and Beijing, was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.
During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
The prosecution also accused Lai of making such requests, highlighting his meetings with former US Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.
It also presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the court as evidence, as well as social media posts and text messages.
Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the sweeping security law was imposed in June 2020.
His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.
Health concerns raised during marathon trial
As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.
Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. After the verdict, lawyer, Robert Pang, said his client is doing okay as the legal team studies the verdict.
Before the verdict, his daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father has become weaker and lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.
“His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said.
Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai’s complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were adequate.
Steve Li, chief superintendent of Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, welcomed the guilty verdict and disputed claims of Lai’s worsening health.
“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” he told reporters.
Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.
Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know about Lai’s condition after reports of his health.
She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”
Rights groups, including global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, criticized the verdict.
“It is not an individual who has been on trial — it is press freedom itself, and with this verdict that has been shattered,” said Reporters Without Borders’ director general Thibaut Bruttin.
Originally scheduled to start in December 2022, Lai’s trial was postponed to 2023 as authorities blocked a British lawyer from representing him, citing national security risks.
In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over separate fraud charges involving lease violations, in addition to other cases related to the 2019 protests.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.