Ukraine says Israeli buying of ‘stolen’ grain from Russia not ‘legitimate’
April 28 (Reuters) – Israel’s purchase of grain from occupied Ukrainian territory “stolen” by Russia “cannot be a legitimate business” and Kiev is preparing sanctions against those who try to profit from it, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.
Kiev considers all grain produced in the four regions it has claimed as its own since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, as being stolen by Moscow, and has previously protested its export to other countries.
Russia calls these regions its “new lands”, but they are still internationally recognized as Ukraine. Moscow did not comment on the legal status of the grain collected there.
Speaking to
“Israeli officials cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying,” Zelenskiy added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday that the Israeli ambassador was summoned because of what he described as Israel’s inaction in allowing grain shipments from Russian-occupied Ukraine to enter the country.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Sybiha that Ukraine had provided no evidence that the grain was “stolen”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Tuesday, saying Russia would not be involved. “Let the Kyiv regime deal with Israel on its own,” he said.
Traders told Reuters it was impossible to trace the origin of the wheat once it had been mixed.
UKRAINE SANCTIONS PACKAGE IS BEING PREPARED
Zelenskiy said Kiev “took all necessary steps through diplomatic channels” but no other ship was stopped.
“Russia systematically seizes grain from the Ukrainian territory it temporarily occupies and organizes its exports through people connected to the occupiers,” Zelenskiy said.
“Such plans violate the laws of the State of Israel itself,” he added.
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine is preparing a package of sanctions against grain transporters and natural and legal entities trying to profit from the plan.
He added that Ukraine expects Israel to respect Ukraine and avoid actions that would undermine bilateral relations.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka, additional reporting by Moscow bureau; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Alexander Smith)
