Ukraine officially asks Israel to arrest Russian ship carrying stolen Ukrainian grain

Ukraine sent the Israeli side a package of documents for the arrest of a Russian ship with stolen Ukrainian grain.

This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

The Prosecutor Generalʼs Office has initiated the arrest of the sea vessel PANORMITIS and its cargo, which, according to the investigation, may be part of a scheme to legalize illegally exported Ukrainian grain. A corresponding request for international legal assistance has already been sent to the competent authorities of Israel, and Ukrainian documents have been transferred to partners.

Kravchenko clarified that the Ukrainian side is asking Israeli partners to seize the ship and cargo, conduct a search, seize ship and cargo documentation, take grain samples, and interrogate crew members.

According to the investigation, the ship is transporting grain, partially exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The products were loaded after being transshipped from another ship. It is currently heading to the port of Haifa.

Investigators have documented the facts of the vesselʼs illegal entry into closed Ukrainian ports. The Prosecutor General notes that this is a gross violation of Ukrainian legislation and the norms of international maritime law.

He added that since the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, more than 1.7 million tons of agricultural products with a total value of over UAH 20 billion have been illegally exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

What preceded

On April 26, the Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported that the Panormitis ship carrying grain allegedly stolen from the occupied territories of Ukraine had arrived in the bay of the Israeli city of Haifa and was awaiting permission to enter the port. In total, according to Haaretz, four ships have unloaded stolen Ukrainian grain in Haifa since the beginning of 2026.

Because of this, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also stressed that the Foreign Ministry had already appealed to Israel on April 15 regarding a similar ship that had delivered grain to Haifa, but there was no sufficient response to the incident. At that time, Israel informed Ukraine that it was too late to detain the Russian ship, as it had already left the port of Haifa.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded to Sybihaʼs post in X, saying that "diplomatic relations are not conducted on Twitter". He also claimed that Sybiha "did not file a request for legal assistance before turning to the media and social media".

On April 28, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky and handed him a note of protest over the continued arrival of grain to Israel, which Russia exports from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The EU is considering imposing sanctions against Israel for purchasing grain, and Ukraine is ready to make similar decisions.

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