Raw materials

Ukraine accuses Israel of importing stolen grain from Russian occupied territories

Kiev accuses Israel of buying illegally taken grain from Russian soldiers and also warns Egypt and Algeria about illegally exported agricultural goods

28 April 2026

epa12913661 foto simbolica di grano EPA/ALAA BADARNEH EPA

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Sa'ar: Kiev to provide evidence on stolen Ukrainian grain

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

"I have officially summoned the Israeli ambassador to Kiev. Tomorrow morning we will present our protest note and demand appropriate measures". This was stated on X Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, regarding the Israeli purchase of Ukrainian wheat stolen by Russian soldiers in the occupied territories.

"It is difficult to understand Israel's lack of an adequate response to Ukraine's legitimate request regarding the previous ship that delivered stolen goods to Haifa," Sybiha said in reference to the Abinsk, a Russian-flagged bulk carrier that entered the Jewish state a fortnight ago.

"Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we warn Israel not to accept the stolen grain, so as not to jeopardise the friendly relations between our countries," the Kiev foreign minister concluded in reference to the Panormitis ship. "I can confirm that it is not two ships, but more. At the moment I cannot give exact figures, but we are talking about several vessels. It is true, and we have informed Israel about all of them,' the spokesman said, according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.

The Ukrainian diplomat emphasised that Kiev approached Israel through confidential channels, but after "dozens" of requests received only one official reply from the Israeli Foreign Ministry on 20 April.

Sa'ar: Kiev to provide evidence on stolen Ukrainian wheat

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar did not deny that Russian ships carrying grain from Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation have unloaded or are scheduled to unload cargo in Israel, stating that "the Ukrainian government has not provided evidence to support its claims."

Kiev: ships with Russian grain arriving in Egypt and Algeria

Ukraine will respond to all cases of agricultural products illegally exported by Russia from the occupied territories to foreign markets, not limiting itself to the Israeli case alone; at this stage, in particular, some ships are reported to be arriving in Egypt and Algeria. This was stated by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Georgij Tikhij.

"There have been cases in the past, we have even publicly reported similar cargoes when approaching Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and other countries. Now there are actually several ships. As far as I know, one is approaching Egypt and the other Algeria,' the Ukrainian spokesman said, according to Ukrainian news agency Interfax.

Ft: US ambassador to Kiev leaves, differences with Trump

The acting US ambassador to Ukraine will leave Kiev in the coming weeks. This was reported by the Financial Times citing sources. Julies Davis, who has held the position of acting chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Kiev since May, would be frustrated with her post due to differences with Donald Trump over his support for Ukraine. Her exit follows that of her predecessor, who left for similar reasons