The investigation by Slidstvo.info revealed that the Turkish company Erisler, a supplier to the UN World Food Programme, buys Ukrainian grain from a Russian company «Nika». The owners of this company also manufacture drones for the Russian army.
Turkish company buys grain from occupied Mariupol
According to the investigation, in 2023-2024, the Russian company Nika shipped more than 54,000 tonnes of wheat to Turkey from the temporarily occupied Mariupol. The recipient of the grain was Global Commodities and Logistics Limited, but part of the cargo went to the Turkish company Erisler.
Erisler is a supplier to the UN World Food Programme. The company produces flour and instant noodles, which are also sold in Ukraine.
Connection with the production of drones for the Russian Federation
Nika is owned by a Russian businessman Roman Gurov. He is also the head of the sanctioned Roboavia company, which manufactures reconnaissance and attack drones for the Russian army.
According to Russian customs, in 2023, Nika exported $3.7 million worth of wheat to Turkey and Egypt. In 2024, the volume of exports almost quadrupled to 59.5 thousand tonnes worth $12.9 million.
Details of deliveries and expertise
Customs declarations indicate that Nika's production sites are located in occupied Mariupol. The laboratory examination of one of the batches of wheat that Erisler received in April 2024 was carried out by the Ukrainian representative office of the international company Cotecna in Odesa.
Cotecna stated that it did not provide services related to goods from non-government controlled areas, including Mariupol.
Context.
In June 2022, the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey reported that Russia was exporting stolen Ukrainian grain to Turkey. The problem of illegal exports of Ukrainian agricultural products from the occupied territories remains relevant.
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