Ukraine has asked Israel to seize a vessel allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied territories, the country’s top prosecutor said Wednesday, escalating a diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Tel Aviv.
Ukraine and Israel traded accusations on Tuesday, with Ukraine saying it had repeatedly urged Israel via diplomatic channels to take measures regarding the vessel. Israel accused Kyiv of "Twitter diplomacy."
Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, was headed to the Israeli port of Haifa with grain "some of which was shipped" from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. The grain had earlier been loaded from another vessel, he said.
"The Ukrainian side is asking its Israeli partners to seize the vessel and its cargo, conduct a search, seize the vessel's and cargo documentation, take grain samples, and question the crew members," Kravchenko said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, vowed that Kyiv would "go after Russia’s shadow grain fleet and its enablers across all geographies."
Sybiha quoted data showing that between January and April, 25 vessels made some 50 voyages from ports in Russian-occupied Ukraine to ports in third countries. He said that during that period more than 850,000 metric tons of grain were exported from occupied areas.
An official at Royal Maritime Inc, the vessel's Greece-based management company, denied the Panormitis was carrying any grain from occupied Ukraine.
"All of the legal documents we have, including the cargo's certificate of origin, show that the cargo is Russian," the official told Reuters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who previously said Ukraine had not provided any evidence for its claims, wrote on X on Wednesday that Kyiv had submitted its request to seize the vessel late on Tuesday.
"One would expect the submission of a legal request before Tweeting. You chose differently, for your own reasons," he wrote. "The request is now being examined by the relevant authorities."
Kyiv has repeatedly protested against Russian exports of grain from eastern Ukrainian regions occupied since Moscow's 2022 invasion and from Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday threatened sanctions against those attempting to profit from the shipment, and Kyiv summoned Israel's ambassador over what it described as Israeli inaction.
Moscow has not commented on the legal status of grain collected in occupied areas and the Kremlin declined to comment on the Panormitis on Tuesday, saying Russia would not get involved.
The EU said on Tuesday it had approached Israel regarding a "Russian shadow fleet vessel" carrying stolen grain and was ready to sanction individuals and entities in third countries that helped to fund Russia's war effort.
More than 1.7 million metric tons of agricultural products, worth over 20 billion hryvnias ($453.67 million), have been illegally transferred from occupied territories since Russia's invasion, Kravchenko said. Reuters could not immediately verify the data.
Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that since March it had reached out to Israel regarding a different vessel, the Abinsk, which it said was also carrying stolen grain. That ship was allowed to unload and leave Israel, it said.