Svatove Seed Storage: Luhansk Judge Orders Russia to Pay 65.36 Million Hryvnia

A ruling issued by the Commercial Court of Luhansk Oblast requires the Russian Ministry of Justice to pay UAH 65.36 million, approximately $1.6 million, to Oliiar. The payment compensates the company for a specific inventory of sunflower seeds that was seized and never returned after Russian forces occupied Svatove in early 2022.

Oliiar, a private entity registered in Pustomyty, Lviv Oblast, entered a purchase agreement in October 2021 to acquire 4,700 tonnes of sunflower seeds from the 2021 harvest. The supplier, Prydniprovske Agrarian Company LLC, delivered the full quantity to a warehouse operated by Svatove-Ahro LLC. By the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the storage facility had forwarded 2,592 tonnes to Oliiar. The remaining 2,107 tonnes were left in the Svatove warehouse when Russian armed groups took control of the premises.

The court decision, dated October 24, 2026, states that Oliiar provided conclusive evidence linking the loss of the crop directly to Russia's armed aggression. An expert valuation determined the value of the lost seeds at the cited figure. Iryna Zalizna is listed as the founder of Oliiar, with Iryna Podoba serving as its director.

This judgment is part of a series of similar decisions by the same court. In a previous ruling, the judge ordered Russia to pay UAH 51.67 million, roughly $1.25 million, to Trading House Agrokhim LLC. That earlier compensation covered property losses in Svatove and Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast. The current ruling specifically addresses the commercial loss of the 2021 sunflower seed harvest held in the occupied region.