Ukraine demands from Israel to arrest the grain stolen by the Russians
Kyiv has officially appealed to the Israeli authorities with a demand to seize a shipment of wheat from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, which was recently delivered by the ABINSK vessel to the port of Haifa.
This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Despite warnings from the Ukrainian side sent back in March, the ship was allowed to unload in Israel between April 12 and 14.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ABINSK is part of a shadow fleet that Russia uses to illegally export stolen resources and finance military operations. The Office of the Prosecutor General has already initiated criminal proceedings, and a Ukrainian court has issued an in absentia arrest warrant for the vessel and its cargo. Based on these decisions, Ukraine has sent a request to Israel for international legal assistance to block the grain.
Ukrainian diplomats emphasize that they expect Israel to make a lawful decision that will prevent the legalization of stolen resources. Kyiv calls on its partners to take a principled stance to prevent the aggressor from profiting from property removed from temporarily occupied regions. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to work with the international community to strengthen control over the movement of vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet.
According to intelligence reports, preparations for the ship to leave the Black Sea with cargo from the occupied territories were detected as early as March 20. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk, had warned official Jerusalem in advance about the sanctions violation and requested that the ship not be allowed to dock, but to no avail.
Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist with the SeaKrime project of the Myrotvorets Center, wrote that the vessel ABINSK, on which Russia was transporting over 43,000 tons of wheat from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, was received in the Israeli city of Haifa.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga held a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar regarding the arrival of a Russian vessel carrying stolen agricultural products at an Israeli port. The Ukrainian side emphasized that the illegal trade in stolen goods is part of the aggressor’s military efforts and must not be permitted.
