Ukraine has asked Israel to seize a vessel carrying grain it says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia, its top prosecutor said on Wednesday, amid a diplomatic tussle between the two countries over the shipment.
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 social media 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.
An official at Royal Maritime, the vessel's Greece-based management company, denied the Panormitis was carrying any grain from occupied Ukraine. "All of the legal documents we have, including the cargo's certificate of origin, show that the cargo is Russian," the official told Reuters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who previously said Ukraine had not provided any evidence for its claims, wrote on social media on Wednesday that Kyiv had submitted its request to seize the vessel late on Tuesday.
"One would expect the submission of a legal request before Tweeting. You chose differently, for your own reasons," he wrote. "The request is now being examined by the relevant authorities."
Kyiv has repeatedly protested Russian exports of grain from eastern Ukrainian regions occupied since Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion and from Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday threatened sanctions against those attempting to profit from the shipment, and Kyiv summoned Israel's ambassador over what it described as Israeli inaction.
Moscow has not commented on the legal status of grain collected in occupied areas, and the Kremlin declined to comment on the Panormitis on Tuesday, saying Russia would not get involved.
The EU said on Tuesday it had approached Israel regarding a "Russian shadow fleet vessel" carrying stolen grain and was ready to sanction individuals and entities in third countries that helped to fund Russia's war effort.
More than 1.7 million tonnes of agricultural products, worth over UAH20 billion ($453.67 million), have been illegally transferred from occupied territories since Russia's invasion, Kravchenko said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the data.
Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that since March it had reached out to Israel regarding a different vessel, the Abinsk, which it said was also carrying stolen grain. That ship was allowed to unload and leave Israel despite Kyiv's requests, it said.
"We expect the Israeli side to take it seriously rather than responding with emotional statements," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on social media on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem and Renee Maltezou in Athens; Editing by Ros Russell and Joe Bavier)
