Ukraine officially asks Israel to seize ship and cargo of stolen grain

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

This was reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko.

According to him, the Prosecutor General’s Office initiated the arrest of the Panormitis sea vessel and cargo, which, according to the investigation, may be part of a scheme to legalize illegally exported Ukrainian grain.

“The corresponding request for international legal assistance has already been sent to the competent authorities of the State of Israel. Today, our documents are already there,” the Prosecutor General noted.

The Ukrainian side asks its Israeli partners to arrest 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 transshipment from another vessel. It is currently heading to the port of Haifa.

“Investigators have documented the facts of the vessel’s illegal entry into closed ports of Ukraine. This is a gross violation of Ukrainian legislation and the norms of international maritime law,” Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized.

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

As previously reported by USM, the bulk carrier Panormitis is transporting more than 25 thousand tons of grain to Haifa, part of which is documented to be connected with supplies from occupied Berdyansk.