Grodno Azot delivered products to Ukraine despite sanctions

The products of the Belarusian company Grodno Azot were delivered to Ukraine, although the company itself was sanctioned by both Ukraine and the EU, reports Radio Liberty.

Mineral fertilizers were delivered under the guise of products from Turkmenistan. The deliveries were made by a company registered in the United Arab Emirates by Turkish citizens. Investigators uncovered this scheme during the investigation of the criminal case against the Ukrainian company Oscar Optima, which was involved in the supply and sale of Belarusian mineral fertilizers in Ukraine.

It is reported that Grodno Azot's products were shipped by rail to the port of the Russian city of Rostov. From there it was transported to the port of the Bulgarian city of Burgas, where the fertilizers were bagged and then transported to the port of the Bulgarian city of Ruse on the Danube River. The Belarusian fertilizers were then transported by ship to the sea port of Izmail. There, they were registered under customs certificates from Turkmenistan, although that country's enterprises do not produce such fertilizers.

Ukrainian investigators found the names of all dry-cargo ships on which Belarusian fertilizers were transported from Bulgaria - White Star, Marina, Dobrich, Danimex 3, Leda, Paul P. In the spring of 2023, 4900 tons of products were brought to Ukraine in this way. Fertilizers from the first four ships were transported to Dnipro and some of them were even sold.

In the middle of April 2023 three barges - "627", "490" and "DDS-1" delivered another 4506 tons of liquid fertilizers to the port of Izmail. They brought Belarusian products from the Romanian port of Constanta.

Grodno Azot came under EU sanctions in December 2021 for political dismissals of workers. Ukraine imposed sanctions on the company after Lukashenka supported large-scale Russian aggression.