Zelenskyy blasts Israel over docking

Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Israel on Tuesday, April 28, of allowing Russian-stolen Ukrainian grain to reach Haifa and said Kyiv was preparing sanctions. (euronews.com) (kyivindependent.com) Zelenskyy said another vessel, the Panama-flagged Panormitis, had arrived at an Israeli port and was preparing to unload. Ukraine says the ship carried more than 6,200 tonnes of wheat and 19,000 tonnes of barley taken from occupied Ukrainian territory. (euronews.com 1) (euronews.com 2) The dispute widened after an earlier vessel, ABINSK, allegedly unloaded about 43,000 tons of wheat in Haifa between April 12 and April 14. Ukraine says it warned Israel about that ship on March 23 and again through diplomatic channels before it docked. (al-monitor.com) (timesofisrael.com) Israel rejected the accusation that it knowingly accepted stolen cargo. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Kyiv had not provided enough evidence or a formal legal-assistance request before taking the issue public, and said Israeli authorities were examining the matter. (al-monitor.com) (newindianexpress.com) Ukraine says the grain trade is part of Russia’s wartime seizure of crops from occupied land in southern Ukraine. Kyiv’s estimate, cited by Euronews, is that Russia has stolen at least 15 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. (euronews.com) The European Union added pressure on April 28, saying it was ready to target people and companies in third countries that help move stolen Ukrainian grain. A European Commission spokesperson told Euronews the bloc had already approached Israel’s foreign ministry about the Haifa case. (euronews.com) (kyivindependent.com) The shipping route matters because Ukraine says the cargo’s origin is being disguised through ship-to-ship transfers and “shadow fleet” logistics. Those vessels often use opaque ownership and paperwork to move sanctioned or disputed cargo through foreign ports. (timesofisrael.com) (newindianexpress.com) Haaretz previously found that at least four shipments of allegedly stolen Ukrainian grain had already been unloaded in Israel this year, according to multiple reports citing the investigation. That turned a cargo dispute into a direct diplomatic clash between Kyiv and Jerusalem. (euronews.com) (kyivindependent.com) Zelenskyy’s message was that buying stolen grain is not ordinary trade. Israel’s message was that it wants proof and legal process, not public accusations. (euronews.com) (al-monitor.com)