The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained the director and head of the laboratory at the Ukrainian branch of Cotecna, a company featured in Slidstvo.Info’s investigation, “UN Supplier Buys Stolen Ukrainian Grain from Russians”. The two detainees face up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of their property for aiding the aggressor state.
The SBU announced the detentions in an official statement.
“Following a series of operations in Odesa, two individuals who assisted the aggressor state have been detained. They helped Russia conceal the origin of stolen agricultural products worth more than UAH 60 million. During searches of their homes and the company’s office, investigators seized computers, mobile phones, documents and falsified laboratory reports containing evidence of crimes committed in Russia’s interests,” the SBU statement reads.
SBU investigators suspect the two individuals of aiding the aggressor state as part of a group acting in prior conspiracy.
Photo: Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
In March 2026, Slidstvo.Info journalists revealed that between 2023 and 2024, the Russian company Nika LLC shipped more than 54,000 tonnes of wheat from occupied Mariupol to Turkey. According to information uncovered by the journalists, Cotecna’s Odesa office issued certificates for the exported grain, falsely identifying it as Russian and thereby helping to legitimise the sale of stolen Ukrainian grain.
“To conceal the true origin of the goods and enable their sale, Russian representatives established contacts with the management of a specialised company in Odesa and commissioned falsified documents,” the SBU reported.
Slidstvo.Info journalists found that Nika, the company responsible for shipping the grain, is headed by Lyudmila Gurova. She also owns Roboavia, a major Russian drone manufacturer subject to Ukrainian and US sanctions.
According to Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR), the company manufactures Sarych and Syurpriz reconnaissance and attack drones, as well as Klin kamikaze drones, which Russian forces use in their war against Ukraine.
Before publishing its investigation, Slidstvo.Info contacted Cotecna’s headquarters. The company categorically denied the allegations, stating that it had no knowledge of the facts uncovered by the journalists and that Mariupol was not mentioned in any of its documents.
