The Bulgarian company HUS Ltd has filed a lawsuit in a Ukrainian court against Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, demanding the return of metal products from the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant that were confiscated in 2022. The seized property was transferred to military units for use in defense purposes, Radio Svaboda reports, citing informed sources.
According to the outlet’s sources, before the war HUS Ltd purchased more than 1.3 million kilograms of steel wire rod from the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant under an official contract, allegedly paying about $652,000. The products were transported from Belarus to Lithuania and then through the port of Klaipėda to Odesa, where the cargo was to be reloaded for further shipment to Bulgaria — but the full-scale war began and the cargo remained stuck.
Since 2022, Ukraine has confiscated all Belarusian products located in ports, on railways and in customs zones on Ukrainian territory. In the Odesa seaport alone, more than three million kilograms of Belarusian Metallurgical Plant products have been detained since 2022.
The court refused to return the products to the Bulgarian company because the documents show that they belong directly to the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant. HUS Ltd has the right to appeal the decision.
