Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on Telegram on Wednesday that the vessel, Panormitis, was heading to the Israeli port of Port of Haifa with grain, “some of which was shipped” from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Ukraine has asked Israel to seize a ship carrying grain it claims was taken from territories occupied by Russia, according to its top prosecutor, as tensions rise between the two countries over the cargo.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on Telegram on Wednesday that the vessel, Panormitis, was heading to the Israeli port of Port of Haifa with grain, “some of which was shipped” from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
He added that the grain had been transferred from another vessel before the journey.
The dispute escalated a day earlier, with both Ukraine and Israel exchanging accusations.
Ukraine said it had repeatedly called on Israel through diplomatic channels to act on the vessel, while Israel criticised Kyiv for what it described as “Twitter diplomacy.”
“The Ukrainian side is asking its Israeli partners to seize the vessel and its cargo, carry out a search, confiscate documents related to the ship and its cargo, collect grain samples, and question the crew,” Kravchenko said.
However, an official from Royal Maritime Inc, the Greece-based company managing the vessel, denied that the Panormitis was transporting grain from occupied Ukrainian territories.
“All the legal documents we have, including the cargo’s certificate of origin, show that the grain is Russian,” the official told Reuters.
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, who had earlier said Ukraine provided no evidence for its claims, stated on X that Kyiv only formally submitted its request to seize the vessel late Tuesday.
“One would expect a legal request to be submitted before posting on social media.You chose otherwise, for your own reasons,” he wrote, adding that the request is now under review by the relevant authorities.
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