Militants of the Russian-backed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) have sent about 650 tonnes of stolen Ukrainian grain to Russia, Pravda reported on Friday.

RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, posted video footage showing the grain being transported by rail on Friday.

Leonid Pasichnyk, leader of the LPR militant group, watched as men loaded the grain into railway cars.

Pravda reported that Pasichnyk claimed he was instructed to organise the export of grain from Luhansk region. Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of Melitopol, southeastern Ukraine, also confirmed that Russian invaders were exporting grains stolen from Ukrainians.

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LPR militants claim that they have scraped “export duties” for Russia. This means that Russia’s occupation forces can freely move goods from Luhansk to Russia.

Russia’s navy has been blocking sea routes in the Black Sea and preventing grain from leaving ports since Russia invaded Ukraine. Millions of tons of wheat are stranded because ships cannot risk attack from Russian forces.

Ukraine and journalists covering the ongoing war have accused Russia of theft. Recently, news outlets condemned Russia for stealing steel from the occupied city of Mariupol.

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of World Trade Organisation, told the BBC that 35 countries in Africa import food from the Black Sea region. Some 22 African countries also import fertilizer from the same region.

“You can imagine what a big impact this is going to have, even just on the African continent,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “I hope that we don’t go into a really severe food crisis for the next couple of years.”