“The ship is suspected of carrying a cargo of grain that was illegally transported from a closed port in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, which is a violation of international law and Ukrainian legislation,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote in a post on X.
He added that Israel did not respond to Kiev's request to detain the ship. In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rebuked his Ukrainian counterpart, arguing that “diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media.”
On Wednesday, Sibiha stressed that his country was not conducting “Twitter diplomacy” but was making “a very specific legal and diplomatic request for international legal assistance that requires a response.”
“We expect the Israeli side to take this seriously, rather than respond with emotional statements,” he added.
Saar rejected these allegations and reinforced his criticism, emphasizing that Israel was right to expect a legal request to be submitted. He added that the formal request, which was submitted on Tuesday by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, is currently being considered by the relevant authorities.
— The Ukrainian side is asking Israeli partners to seize the ship and cargo, conduct a search, seize ship and cargo documentation, take grain samples and interrogate crew members, said Ruslan Kravchenko, Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
According to the findings of the investigation, the Panormitis ship is transporting grain from the territory of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia. — The products were loaded after transhipment from another vessel. The ship is currently heading to the port of Haifa. Investigators documented the fact that the ship illegally entered closed ports in Ukraine. This constitutes a gross violation of Ukrainian legislation and the norms of international maritime law, Kravchenko said.
He added that, according to his data, since 2022, Russia has looted and profited from over 1.7 million tons of agricultural products from the occupied territories of Ukraine worth over 20 billion hryvnias (PLN 1.7 billion).
