Ukraine seeks legal action from Israel over “stolen” grain imports

Ukraine has sent a formal request for legal assistance to Israel over the import of agricultural products it says were “illegally” removed by Russia from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said.

According to the ambassador, the request originated from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and was forwarded in a diplomatic note to Israel’s foreign and justice ministries. Ukrainian lawyers have also submitted the request directly to Israel’s Prosecutor General’s Office, as per Ukrainian media.

“The request for legal assistance was received overnight from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. We are sending it with a note to the local Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry. Our lawyers have already submitted the request directly to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Israel,” Korniychuk said.

Earlier, on April 28, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, and handed him a note of protest over the continued arrival in Israel of agricultural goods that Kyiv says were unlawfully taken from occupied areas.

In its statement, the Ukrainian side said the origin of the grain had been reliably established and that the methods used to conceal it — including ship-to-ship transfers in the Black Sea — were well known, including to Israeli authorities. Despite this, the cargoes have continued to reach Israeli ports and enter commercial circulation, it said.

Ukrainian officials specifically cited the vessel ABINSK, which, as of April 27, was anchored off Haifa awaiting unloading. They added that several other ships carrying similar cargo had previously arrived in Israel.

The Foreign Ministry also stated that Israel’s failure to respond to official appeals and requests for international legal assistance — including calls to detain vessels and cargo — effectively creates conditions for the legalisation of what Kyiv describes as stolen Ukrainian grain.

Ukraine said it views these cases not as isolated incidents but as a systemic practice that may indicate deliberate facilitation of illegal economic activity linked to the occupation of its territories and the circumvention of sanctions.

Kyiv has called on Israel to take immediate measures to halt the import of such grain and prevent its unloading in Israeli ports.

By Tamilla Hasanova