Russia owes $1.6M for seized seeds

The Commercial Court of Luhansk Oblast ordered the Russian state to pay UAH 65.36 million, approximately US$1.6 million, to Oliiar. The ruling compensates the company for a specific inventory of sunflower seeds that vanished from its storage facility in the occupied city of Svatove.

The dispute traces to October 2021, when Oliiar contracted with Prydniprovske Agrarian Company LLC to buy 4,700 tonnes of the 2021 harvest. Oliiar arranged for Svatove-Ahro LLC to hold the crop in a local warehouse. By February 24, 2022, the storage firm had released 2,592 tonnes to Oliiar, leaving 2,107 tonnes on site when the full-scale invasion began.

Russian armed groups subsequently seized the warehouse premises. Oliiar never recovered the remaining seeds. The court found that the company provided conclusive evidence linking the loss directly to Russia's armed aggression. Consequently, the judge ordered the Russian Ministry of Justice to cover the damages based on an expert valuation.

Oliiar is registered in Pustomyty, Lviv Oblast. Iryna Zalizna serves as the founder, while Iryna Podoba acts as the director. The company represents a growing number of private entities seeking recovery of assets lost in occupied territories.

This decision mirrors an earlier ruling by the same court. That prior judgment required Russia to pay UAH 51.67 million, about US$1.25 million, to Trading House Agrokhim LLC for property lost in Svatove and Kakhovka. The current case adds another data point to the judicial process for calculating war damages against the Russian state.