Ukraine’s president on Tuesday criticized Israel for allegedly purchasing grain taken from Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia during its invasion. Kyiv summoned Israel’s ambassador on Monday after Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha complained that Israeli ports had allowed shipments carrying foodstuffs from occupied Ukrainian regions.
Both Russia and Ukraine are major global agricultural exporters, with Russia the largest wheat exporter and Ukraine among the top 10, according to 2023 UN Food and Agriculture Organization data.
“Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said online. “This is not — and cannot be — legitimate business.” He added that Israeli authorities “cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told his Ukrainian counterpart that Kyiv had not provided evidence to support its allegation that the grain was stolen, and said such disputes should not be played out online or through the media, “especially between friendly nations.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying the matter should be resolved between the two countries. Kyiv regards all grain produced in territories occupied since Russia’s full-scale 2022 invasion, as well as from Crimea (annexed in 2014), as stolen by Moscow.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of “systematically seizing grain on temporarily occupied Ukrainian land and organizing its export through individuals linked to the occupiers,” saying those operations also violated Israeli law. He added that his government was preparing a sanctions package targeting those transporting the grain and anyone seeking to profit from what he called a criminal scheme.
The European Union has contacted the Israeli Foreign Ministry and warned it is prepared to impose sanctions. “The EU has taken note of the reports that a Russian shadow fleet vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has been allowed to unload at Haifa port in Israel,” EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni told DW. “We condemn all actions that help fund Russia’s illegal war effort and circumvent EU sanctions, and remain ready to target such actions by listing individuals and entities in third countries if necessary.”
El Anouni noted the EU had approached Israel on the issue. The EU executive can propose targeted sanctions, but any final measures must be approved unanimously by all 27 member states — a requirement that has previously delayed or blocked sanctions against both Israeli and Russian entities.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru