The Foreign Ministry stated that Ukraine has sent Israel a request for international legal assistance to arrest a stolen shipment of Ukrainian grain that was unloaded from the Russian shadow fleet ship Abinsk in the port of Haifa.
This is stated in a statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
They say that on March 23, the Ukrainian side warned Israel about the possible origin of the grain on board the Abinsk and emphasized the inadmissibility of such operations. However, despite the assurances received about the reaction, the Israeli authorities allowed the ship to unload in the port of Haifa. This happened on April 12-14.
“Based on the materials of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, including the decision of the Ukrainian court to arrest the vessel and cargo within the framework of the relevant criminal proceedings, the Ukrainian side immediately sent a request for international legal assistance to the State of Israel,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The department noted that they now expect a “considered and lawful decision” from the Israeli side and, as a result, the satisfaction of the request to seize the grain in order to prevent similar situations in the future.
The Foreign Ministry added that they hope for “fruitful and constructive interaction between the competent authorities” of Ukraine and Israel, proper consideration of the request, and application of appropriate legal mechanisms within Israeli jurisdiction.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service, the Russian Federation systematically exports grain crops grown in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and sells them on foreign markets as Russian exports.
To this end, the Russian Federation is using the infrastructure of the occupied ports of the Azov and Black Seas, primarily the Sevastopol seaport. During 2025, the Russian Federation exported over 2 million tons of grain crops from the Transcaucasian Sea of Ukraine. The main volumes fell in the second half of the year – about 1.4 million tons.