Zelenskyy accuses Israel of purchasing stolen Russian grain imports and threatens sanctions

(SeaPRwire) –   On Tuesday, Ukraine leveled accusations against Israel for permitting the import of grain that Kyiv claims was stolen by Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories, sparking a tense back-and-forth between officials of the two countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a grain-carrying vessel had reached an Israeli port and was getting ready to unload its cargo, labeling the trade unlawful and threatening to impose sanctions on all parties involved in the transaction.

Israeli authorities asserted that the vessel had not entered the port and had not yet filed its relevant documentation. However, the marine tracking platform MarineTraffic.com indicated that the ship had been docked in Haifa for multiple days.

“In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability,” Zelenskyy posted on X, further noting that Ukraine’s intelligence agencies were putting together sanctions lists targeting firms and people that profit from these grain shipments.

“We will also coordinate with European partners to ensure that the relevant individuals are included in European sanctions regimes,” he added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated that the country’s tax authority had launched an investigation into a ship that was scheduled to dock at the port of Haifa.

Saar brushed off Zelenskyy’s remarks as “Twitter diplomacy,” telling reporters at a press briefing in Jerusalem that Ukraine had not supplied enough relevant information nor filed any requests for legal assistance.

Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, noted that Kyiv had notified Israeli officials about the vessels ahead of time. He added that over two such ships had already arrived in Israel carrying agricultural products that Ukraine says were illegally seized by Russia from its occupied territories.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had called in Israeli ambassador Michael Brodsky and delivered a formal protest note over what it described as the ongoing stream of these shipments. It further stated that the source of the grain had been confirmed, and that the concealment tactics used, including ship-to-ship transfers in the Black Sea, were widely documented.

Even with these notifications, the cargo still keeps arriving at Israeli ports and entering the commercial market, the ministry said, accusing Israel of not responding to formal requests to seize the vessels and their cargo.

Kyiv characterized the problem as a systemic issue instead of an isolated incident, and called on Israel to stop imports that it says involve stolen Ukrainian grain, warning that the situation could damage bilateral ties between the two countries.