Ukraine accuses Israel of receiving shipments of grain 'stolen' by Russia

A diplomatic row has broken out over allegations that Israel is receiving shipments of grain from Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "another vessel" carrying grain "stolen by Russia" had arrived at a port in Israel and was preparing to unload.

He said Israeli authorities "cannot be unaware" of what cargo was inside vessels arriving at their country's ports, and warned that their failure to prevent the grain shipments was undermining bilateral relations.

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticised Ukraine for making allegations like this in public, insisting that they were "not evidence" but that the matter would be examined.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that he "would rather not comment on this in any way or get involved in this matter".

Russia has previously denied that it is stealing Ukrainian grain.

Another vessel with a suspected cargo of such grain reached Haifa Bay on Sunday morning and was waiting its turn to enter the port, the paper reported.

On Monday night, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that his office had summoned the Israeli ambassador in Kyiv to protest against what he described as "Israel's lack of appropriate response to Ukraine's legitimate request regarding the previous vessel that delivered stolen goods to Haifa".

"Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we once again warn Israel against accepting the stolen grain and harming our relations," he added.

Saar hit back swiftly, telling his counterpart that diplomatic relations between friendly nations were not conducted online or in the media.

"Evidence substantiating the allegations have yet to be provided," he wrote on X.

"You did not even submit a request for legal assistance before turning to the media and social networks.

"The matter will be examined. Israel is a state that abides by the rule of law with independent law enforcement authorities," he added.

"Such schemes violate the laws of the State of Israel itself," he said.

Ukraine has taken all necessary steps through diplomatic channels to prevent such incidents. However, we see that yet another such vessel has not been stopped.

"We expect that the Israeli authorities will respect Ukraine and refrain from actions that undermine our bilateral relations," he added.

The president also said Ukraine was preparing a "relevant sanctions package" with European countries to cover those transporting the grain and profiting from its sale.

European Union foreign affairs' spokesman Anouar El Anouni told the BBC that the bloc had "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".

"⁠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," he said.

The EU said in 2024 that there was evidence that Russia was "illegally appropriating large volumes of [grain] products in territories of Ukraine, which it illegally occupies, and routing them to its export markets as allegedly Russian products".