Luhansk court orders Russia to pay Lviv firm $1.6 million for seized sunflower seeds

A commercial court in Luhansk Oblast has determined that the Russian state owes $1.6 million to a Lviv region company for a lost shipment of sunflower seeds. The ruling, issued this week, mandates the Russian Ministry of Justice to pay UAH 65.36 million to Oliiar.

The dispute centers on a 2021 harvest. In October 2021, Oliiar contracted to buy 4,700 tonnes of seeds from Prydniprovske Agrarian Company LLC. The crop was stored at a facility in Svatove operated by Svatove-Ahro LLC. By February 24, 2022, the warehouse had shipped 2,592 tonnes to Oliiar. That left 2,107 tonnes still in storage when the full-scale invasion began.

Russian armed groups subsequently seized the warehouse premises. Oliiar never recovered the remaining seeds. The court found that Oliiar provided conclusive evidence that the loss resulted directly from Russia's armed aggression. An expert valuation set the compensation figure at UAH 65.36 million.

Oliiar is registered in Pustomyty, Lviv Oblast. Iryna Zalizna is the founder, and Iryna Podoba serves as the director. This is not the first time the court has ordered compensation for losses in the region. Earlier, the same court ordered Russia to pay UAH 51.67 million to Trading House Agrokhim LLC for property lost in Svatove and Kakhovka.