Ukraine has lodged a protest with Israel over the import of grain stolen by Russia
Ukraine has handed the Israeli ambassador a note of protest regarding the import of grain which, according to Kyiv, was illegally exported by Russia from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. The Ukrainian side is calling on Israel to take immediate measures to halt such shipments and prevent the unloading of this grain at the country’s ports.
This was stated in a comment by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tykhy regarding the invitation of the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign Ministry.
Tykhyi reported that on April 28, Michael Brodsky, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and presented with a note of protest.
The reason was the arrival in Israel of agricultural products illegally exported by the Russian Federation from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian side emphasized that the origin of this grain has been accurately established, and the schemes used to conceal it—in particular, ‘ship-to-ship’ transshipments in the Black Sea—are well known, including to the relevant Israeli authorities. Despite this, such cargoes continue to arrive at Israeli ports and enter commercial circulation,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson reported.
According to him, it was separately emphasized that the Israeli side’s disregard for Ukraine’s official appeals and requests for international legal assistance, including the request to detain the vessels and cargo, effectively creates conditions for the legalization of the stolen Ukrainian grain.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it does not view these cases as isolated incidents, but as a systematic practice that bears the hallmarks of deliberate facilitation of illegal economic activity linked to the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, as well as the circumvention of sanctions. We would like to emphasize separately that this is not limited to Israel: the Ukrainian side systematically responds to and counteracts such activities by the Russian Federation in all regions,” Tykhyi noted.
The Ukrainian side also drew attention to the unacceptable discrepancy whereby, despite Ukraine’s support for Israel’s security and decisions to counter terrorist threats—particularly those linked to Iran—Israel effectively permits the import of stolen Ukrainian grain from the Russian Federation.
“In this regard, Ukraine demands that the Israeli side immediately take measures to halt the import of stolen grain and prevent its unloading at Israeli ports,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized.
The Foreign Ministry also released a timeline of Ukraine’s actions, starting from March 23.
Stolen Ukrainiangrain is being supplied to several countries — Foreign Ministry.
Latvia has expanded sanctions to include relatives of Russian high-ranking officials.
As a reminder, the European Union has expanded sanctions against Belarus as part of a new, 20th package of restrictions targeting Russia and its allies. The decision affects Belarus’s defense sector, as well as entities that, according to the EU, support Russia’s war against Ukraine. For the first time, a Chinese organization linked to Belarusian military production has also been added to the list.
On April 23, EU member states approved the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which imposes restrictions on 46 vessels of the “shadow fleet” and 60 entities supporting the Russian military-industrial complex. The new measures include stricter export restrictions on dual-use goods and sanctions against 20 credit and financial institutions.
