Russian invasion World response

Zelenskyy's anger at Israel after stolen grain

Israel is "violating its own laws" when buying grain from occupied Ukrainian territories, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday. According to the president, a ship with wheat stolen by Russia has arrived at the port of Haifa, Israel.

"This is not - and cannot be - legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships arrive at the country's ports and what cargo they are carrying," he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy also accused Russia of "systematic" theft and export of grain seized on Ukrainian soil. He warned that Ukraine is preparing a package of sanctions against Israeli companies that transport and sell smuggled grain.

Grain could trigger a crisis between Israel and Ukraine

Ukraine and Israel are on the brink of a diplomatic crisis, writes Euronews. This is because of a ship loaded with grain that Ukraine claims Russia stole from Russian-occupied territories and sold as Russian.

According to Ukraine, a ship with stolen wheat was unloaded in Haifa, Israel earlier in April. Now another is reported to be on the way, and on Monday the Ukrainian government summoned Israel's ambassador and warned against letting it happen again.

The countries' foreign ministers Andrij Sybiha and Gideon Saar have clashed on X.

"It is difficult to understand the lack of response from Israel to Ukraine's legitimate request regarding the previous ship that delivered stolen goods to Haifa," writes Sybiha,

Saar criticizes him for taking the conflict openly on X and says that no evidence has been presented.

"The issue will be investigated. Israel is a law-abiding state," he adds.