Kyiv requested that Israel seize the vessel and its cargo, take grain samples, and query crew members.
Printed On 29 Apr 2026
Ukraine has requested Israel to grab a vessel carrying grain it says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia, its prime prosecutor stated, amid a diplomatic tussle between the 2 nations over the cargo.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor Common Ruslan Kravchenko stated on Telegram on Wednesday that the vessel, Panormitis, was headed to the Israeli port of Haifa with grain “a few of which was shipped” from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
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The grain had earlier been loaded from one other vessel, he stated.
Ukraine and Israel traded accusations a day earlier, with Ukraine saying it had repeatedly urged Israel by way of diplomatic channels to take measures relating to the vessel. Israel accused Kyiv of “Twitter diplomacy”.
“The Ukrainian aspect is asking its Israeli companions to grab the vessel and its cargo, conduct a search, seize the vessel’s and cargo documentation, take grain samples, and query the crew members,” Kravchenko stated.
An official at Royal Maritime Inc, the vessel’s Greece-based administration firm, denied the Panormitis was carrying any grain from occupied Ukraine.
“The entire authorized paperwork we now have, together with the cargo’s certificates of origin, present that the cargo is Russian,” the official advised the Reuters information company.
Israeli Overseas Minister Gideon Saar, who beforehand stated Ukraine had not offered any proof for its claims, wrote on X on Wednesday that Kyiv had submitted its request to grab the vessel late on Tuesday.
“One would anticipate the submission of a authorized request earlier than Tweeting. You selected in a different way, to your personal causes,” he wrote. “The request is now being examined by the related authorities.”
Diplomatic relations bitter
Kyiv has repeatedly protested Russian exports of grain from japanese Ukrainian areas occupied since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion and from Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday threatened sanctions towards these making an attempt to revenue from the cargo, and Kyiv summoned Israel’s ambassador over what it described as Israeli inaction.
Moscow has not commented on the authorized standing of grain collected in occupied areas, and the Kremlin declined to touch upon the Panormitis on Tuesday, saying Russia wouldn’t become involved.
The EU stated on Tuesday it had approached Israel relating to a “Russian shadow fleet vessel” carrying stolen grain and was able to sanction people and entities in third nations that helped to fund Russia’s conflict effort.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs stated on Tuesday that, since March, it had reached out to Israel relating to a distinct vessel, the Abinsk, which it stated was additionally carrying stolen grain. That ship was allowed to unload and depart Israel regardless of Kyiv’s requests, it stated.
“We anticipate the Israeli aspect to take it significantly slightly than responding with emotional statements,” Ukrainian Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Wednesday.
