An employee of a railroad car depot during the occupation of Kherson exported grain to Crimea

In the summer of 2022, an employee of a railroad car depot in Kherson was appointed manager. He illegally seized the depot's resources and organized the export of grain to Crimea.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

According to the investigation, Andriy Sharlay, a native and resident of Kherson, voluntarily headed the occupation car depot as part of the illegal enterprise Kherson Railway.

The court found that he repaired and maintained freight cars and gave orders to load them with grain crops for further transportation to the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea.

According to eyewitnesses, Sharlay used to work as a railcar inspector at the Kherson station. In August 2022, he took part in the liquidation of an accident at a sorting branch, supported the Russian Federation, spoke out against Ukraine, and campaigned for participation in an illegal referendum.

He also organized the robbery of a depot and the preparation of locomotives with grain for shipment to Crimea. Due to the damaged railroad bridge over the Dnipro River, a special railroad car had to be brought in to repair the track.

Witnesses also reported that Sharlay forbade some of the depot's employees to come to work because of conflicts with them.

The court found him guilty of aiding the enemy in absentia and sentenced him to 11 years in prison without confiscation of property. He was also banned from holding public office and providing administrative services for 12 years. The sentence has not yet entered into force.

After the occupation of the Kherson region, Russians registered more than 3,000 companies, many of which are owned by former deputies and officials of the region. These companies operate under Russian law and are engaged in the export of stolen grain.

Crimea has become the main center for the export of products from the occupied territories, where millions of tons of grain are shipped through ports every year, registered under fictitious documents, through shell companies and the shadow fleet.

According to a study by the Expedite Justice Project, since 2022, more than 2.5 million tons of grain have been exported annually from the temporarily occupied territories through the ports of Sevastopol, Kerch, and Feodosia. It is harvested at seized Ukrainian enterprises, transported by road and rail to Crimea, issued with fake documents, and loaded onto ships for export to Syria, Egypt, Libya, Turkey, and Yemen.

Анна Бальчінос