Israeli FM rejects allegations over ship with stolen Ukrainian grain as Kyiv summons envoy

Editor's note: The story has been updated with additional details.

Ukraine has summoned the Israeli Ambassador, Michael Brodsky, to urge action over a ship that seeks to unload stolen Ukrainian grain at the Haifa Port, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on April 27.

"Friendly Ukrainian-Israeli relations have the potential to benefit both countries, and Russia's illegal trade with stolen Ukrainian grain should not undermine them," Sybiha said on X.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar responded publicly to Andrii Sybiha later on April 27, rejecting Kyiv’s accusations and saying diplomatic relations between “friendly nations” should not be conducted through social media or the press.

“Allegations are not evidence,” Saar wrote on X. “Evidence substantiating the allegations have yet to be provided.” He added that the matter would be examined and said Israeli authorities would act “in accordance with the law.”

Panama-flagged bulk carrier Panormitis, allegedly carrying grain stolen from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, entered the Haifa Bay earlier this week. Marine traffic monitoring services show the vessel idling near the Israeli coast.

Kyiv has warned of diplomatic repercussions if Israel allows the vessel to dock and unload its cargo, Axios reported earlier on April 27, citing an undisclosed Ukrainian source.

Failure to turn the Panormitis bulk carrier away will lead to a crisis in Ukraine-Israel relations, the source told Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

The Kyiv Independent's diplomatic source has confirmed the information.

The news comes after another vessel, the Russian bulk carrier Abinsk, docked in Haifa earlier in April with nearly 44,000 tons of stolen Ukrainian wheat, earning a rebuke from Kyiv.

An investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz found that at least four shipments of stolen Ukrainian grain have already been unloaded in Israel this year.

"It is difficult to understand Israel's lack of appropriate response to Ukraine's legitimate request regarding the previous vessel that delivered stolen goods to Haifa," Sybiha said.

"Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we once again warn Israel against accepting the stolen grain and harming our relations."

The Ukrainian side plans to hand over a protest note and "request appropriate action" during the meeting with the Israeli ambassador on April 28, the minister added.

Panormitis initially departed from the Port of Kavkaz in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, carrying over 6,200 tons of wheat and 19,000 tons of barley, journalist Kateryna Yaresko from the Myrotvorets Center's SeaKrime project reported on April 25.

The vessel was loaded with grain from occupied Ukrainian territories via transfers from other ships, Yaresko wrote.

Axios's source said that Ukraine reserves the "right to deploy a full suite of diplomatic and international legal responses" if Panoramitis is allowed to dock, noting that Israel "essentially shrugged off" Kyiv's demands regarding the previous vessel.

Russia has seized millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from occupied territories, exporting it to global markets by its shadow fleet vessels.

Ukraine-Israeli relations during the all-out war have been complex. Israel has refrained from providing direct military aid to Kyiv, seeking to preserve a balance in its ties with Russia despite Moscow's support for Tehran.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has notably omitted Israel from his Middle East tour earlier this spring, which was aimed at deepening security cooperation with key regional players amid Iranian aerial strikes.