Ukraine requests Israel take measures regarding Panormitis vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain – Sybiha

The Office of the Prosecutor General has sent a request to the Israeli authorities asking for measures to be taken regarding the Panormitis vessel based on a Ukrainian court decision to seize the ship as part of an ongoing investigation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has said.

"The vessel is suspected of transporting a grain cargo that was illegally exported from a closed port in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in violation of international law and Ukrainian legislation," Sybiha wrote on the X social network.

"This is not Twitter diplomacy, but a very specific legal and diplomatic request for international legal assistance that requires a response. We expect the Israeli side to take it seriously, rather than responding with emotional statements," the foreign minister added.

As Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported, the Office of the Prosecutor General is initiating the seizure of the vessel.

"The Ukrainian side asks Israeli partners to seize the vessel and cargo, conduct a search, seize ship and cargo documentation, take grain samples and interrogate crew members," Kravchenko wrote on Telegram.

He added that since the beginning of Russia full-scale aggression, more than 1.7 million tonnes of agricultural products with a total value of over UAH 20 billion have been illegally exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

"The time of unpunished looting under foreign flags has ended. We continue to systematically identify each offending vessel and work to hold accountable all those involved in war crimes against Ukraine," he emphasized.

As reported, on Tuesday, April 28, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Michael Brodsky was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and handed a note of protest due to the ongoing arrival in Israel of agricultural products illegally exported by Russia from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian side emphasized that the origin of this grain has been precisely established, and the schemes for hiding it, in particular ‘ship-to-ship’ transshipment in the Black Sea, are well known, including to the Israeli competent authorities. Despite this, the relevant cargoes continue to enter Israeli ports and be introduced into commercial circulation," the commentary says.

It has currently been established that the vessels ABINSK and Panormitis were used to transport stolen grain to Israel, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is aware of several vessels with agricultural products illegally exported by Russia from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

"I can confirm that it is not about two vessels. There were more. I cannot name a specific number right now, but we are talking about several vessels," said Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they do not consider these cases as isolated incidents, but as a systematic practice that has signs of deliberate assistance to illegal economic activity related to the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, as well as the circumvention of sanctions.

Earlier, on March 23, a meeting took place between the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, where a note was handed over and information provided about the vessel ABINSK and its cargo of stolen Ukrainian grain, emphasizing that any import operations with this vessel are unacceptable.

Subsequently, a series of contacts took place between the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel and official representatives of Israel regarding the mentioned vessel.

On April 14, an official conversation between the foreign ministers took place, during which Sybiha appealed to his Israeli colleague with a call not to accept the cargo and the vessel.

On April 15, the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel received materials from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine regarding a request for international legal assistance and a corresponding court order on the application of a preventive measure against the vessel ABINSK within the framework of criminal proceedings No. 42022000000000615.

On April 15, the Israeli side prematurely completed the unloading of the vessel and allowed it to leave—despite Ukraine’s request not to do so.

On April 16, the Ukrainian side repeated the request for international legal assistance and expressed hope that the unloaded grain would be seized.

In the second half of April, there were additional diplomatic and legal appeals from the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of Israel, and the preparation of a lawsuit in an Israeli court in a criminal case regarding stolen grain.

On April 20, the only official response so far from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the request of the Ukrainian side was received. Its essence can be reduced to the fact that Israel does not plan to take real measures to stop illegal trade or seize shipments of stolen grain or the vessels that transported it, due to a formal objection that the vessel left Israel and it does not recognize the evidence of the Ukrainian side as sufficient.

On April 25, the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel officially informed Israel about another vessel, the Panormitis, which was again approaching Haifa with a cargo of grain originating from the occupied territories of Ukraine, and this information was again ignored.

It is known that since April 27, despite media reports and all actions by the Ukrainian side, the vessel has been at the Haifa roadstead awaiting unloading.