Ukraine has asked Israel to seize a vessel allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied territories, the country’s top prosecutor said Wednesday, escalating a diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Tel Aviv.
Ukraine and Israel traded accusations on Tuesday, with Ukraine saying it had repeatedly urged Israel via diplomatic channels to take measures regarding the vessel. Israel accused Kyiv of "Twitter diplomacy."
Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, was headed to the Israeli port of Haifa with grain "some of which was shipped" from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. The grain had earlier been loaded from another vessel, he said.
"The Ukrainian side is asking its Israeli partners to seize the vessel and its cargo, conduct a search, seize the vessel's and cargo documentation, take grain samples, and question the crew members," Kravchenko said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, vowed that Kyiv would "go after Russia’s shadow grain fleet and its enablers across all geographies."
