Main points
- The PANORMITIS ship arrived in Haifa with grain stolen by the Russians from the occupied territories of Ukraine, which caused a protest from Ukraine.
- President Zelenskyy emphasized legal responsibility for purchasing stolen grain and criticized Israel for accepting such grain, emphasizing that this is not “clean business.”
Zelenskyy commented on the scandal with Israel / Collage of Channel 24
The PANORMITIS vessel arrived in the Israeli port of Haifa with a cargo of grain that Russia stole from the occupied territories of Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to deliver a note of protest. Volodymyr Zelensky also commented on the situation.
The President emphasized that purchasing stolen goods always entails legal liability.
How did Zelenskyy express his views on the situation?
The head of state is convinced that the Israeli authorities cannot help but know which ships and with what cargo arrive at the country's ports. This applies to one of the ships, which was transporting grain stolen in Ukraine and is currently preparing to be unloaded in Haifa.
This is not and cannot be pure business,
– Zelenskyy emphasized.
He added that Russia regularly appropriates grain in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and organizes its export through individuals associated with the occupation authorities.
Such actions also contradict Israeli law. Ukraine, according to Zelensky, has taken all necessary diplomatic measures to prevent such incidents, but the next ship was still not stopped.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should inform international partners about the situation.
Important! We are talking about more than 6.2 thousand tons of wheat and 19 thousand tons of barley. It was noted that the grain was exported from Berdyansk on April 7-15, and on April 18 it was transshipped from the vessel LEONID PESTRIKOV. The documents were issued in the Russian port of Temryuk to hide the origin of the cargo.
“Ukraine, based on information from our intelligence, is preparing an appropriate sanctions package that will cover both those who directly transport this grain and those individuals and legal entities who are trying to make money from such a criminal scheme,” the president explained.
Volodymyr Zelensky also recalled that Ukraine is working to strengthen security, including in the Middle East, so it would be logical for Israel to respect the country and not allow steps that weaken bilateral relations.
By the way, during his tour of the Middle East, Zelensky did not visit Israel, which the media attributed to tensions in contacts between Kyiv and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko noted for Channel 24 that one of the reasons may be the Israeli Prime Minister's special relationship with Vladimir Putin, which he probably does not want to complicate.
How did the conflict between representatives of the Ukrainian and Israeli Foreign Ministries regarding the situation flare up?
Andriy Sybiga expressed surprise on the Internet the day before at the lack of an appropriate response from Israel to Ukraine's previous appeals regarding a ship with Ukrainian grain that arrived in Haifa. In this regard, the Ukrainian side warned Israel about the risks to bilateral relations in the event of accepting these goods. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also summoned the country's ambassador to deliver a note of protest.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that diplomacy between friendly states should not be conducted through social media or public statements.
He emphasized that the allegations require evidence, which has not yet been provided, and noted that Ukraine did not make a formal request for legal assistance before bringing the issue into the public domain.