Oliiar wins $1.6 million judgment against Russia for sunflower seeds

The Commercial Court of Luhansk Oblast ordered Russia to pay UAH 65.36 million to Oliiar for lost agricultural goods.

The judgment amounts to approximately US$1.6 million. The court based this figure on an expert valuation of the specific inventory held at the time of seizure.

Oliiar is a private company registered in Pustomyty, Lviv Oblast. Iryna Zalizna is the founder, and Iryna Podoba serves as the director. The company entered into a contract in October 2021 to buy 4,700 tonnes of the 2021 sunflower harvest from Prydniprovske Agrarian Company LLC.

Oliiar contracted Svatove-Ahro LLC to store the crop in Svatove. The supplier delivered the full quantity to the warehouse. By February 24, 2022, the facility had transferred 2,592 tonnes to Oliiar. That left 2,107 tonnes remaining in the building.

Russian armed groups took control of the warehouse after the full-scale invasion began. Oliiar never retrieved the remaining seeds. The court ruled that the loss was a direct result of Russian armed aggression. It ordered the Russian Ministry of Justice to settle the debt.

This decision follows a prior ruling by the same court. That earlier order required Russia to pay UAH 51.67 million to Trading House Agrokhim LLC. That sum compensated property losses in Svatove and Kakhovka.