ODESA, UKRAINE — A Nibulon grain warehouse near Odesa, Ukraine, was damaged by a Russian drone attack on Aug. 23, the company said on its Facebook account.
“The ‘Bessarabian’ branch of Nibulon suffered attacks from the Russian Federation,” Nibulon said. “There was minor damage to the warehouse premises. Thanks to the security measures introduced at the enterprise, people were not injured. All the employees of the branch were able to hide in specially equipped (bomb shelters). As of now, the company operates as usual.”
Nibulon, one of the country’s largest grain growers and traders, has been significantly impacted by the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022. On July 31, 2022, Oleksiy Vadatursky, the longtime owner and chief executive officer of Nibulon, was killed on July 31 in his home during a bombing of Mykolaiv, a city in the country’s southern region, by Russian forces. His wife, Raisa Vadatursky, who was with him in their home, also was killed. Andriy Vadatursky succeeded his father as CEO of Nibulon.
Nibulon, which has an annual turnover of approximately $700 million, is among the 20 largest companies in Ukraine. In recent years prior to the Russian invasion, Nibulon was exporting nearly 1 million tonnes of grain per quarter.
Since withdrawing on July 17 from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which for nearly a year allowed safe passage of Ukrainian grain exports during the ongoing war between the two countries, Russia has repeatedly attacked grain infrastructure at ports on the Black Sea and along the Danube River.
During the month-long onslaught, Russia has destroyed 270,000 tonnes of grain at the ports, according to Ukrainian officials.