Ukraine Asks Israel to Seize Grain Ship Panormitis Carrying Allegedly "Stolen" Grain; Operator Denies Claim
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said on November 4, 2026, that Ukraine has asked Israel to seize a vessel carrying grain, saying some of the grain came from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia. Kravchenko said on Telegram 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, and that the grain had earlier been loaded from another vessel.
Ukraine asked 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. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who had previously said Ukraine had not provided any evidence for its claims, wrote on X on November 4 that Kyiv had submitted its request to seize the vessel late on Tuesday, adding: "One would expect the submission of a legal request before Tweeting. You chose differently, for your own reasons." He said the request "is now being examined by the relevant authorities." Ukraine and Israel traded accusations a day earlier, with Ukraine saying it had repeatedly urged Israel via diplomatic channels to take measures, and Israel accusing Kyiv of "Twitter diplomacy."
An official at Royal Maritime Inc, the vessel's Greece-based management company, denied to Reuters that the Panormitis was carrying any grain from occupied Ukraine, saying all of the company's legal documents, including the cargo's certificate of origin, show that the cargo is Russian. Moscow has not commented on the legal status of grain collected in occupied areas, and the Kremlin declined to comment on the Panormitis on November 3, saying Russia would not get involved.
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. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened sanctions on November 3 against those attempting to profit from the shipment, and Kyiv summoned Israel's ambassador over what it described as Israeli inaction. The European Union said on November 3 that 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. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on November 3 that, since March, it had reached out to Israel regarding a different vessel, the Abinsk, which it said was also carrying stolen grain, but that ship was allowed to unload and leave Israel despite Kyiv's requests; Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on November 4 that he expected the Israeli side to take the matter seriously "rather than responding with emotional statements."
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Source: Al Jazeera
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Photo: 图：以色列海法港锚地的一艘普通货船。DmitTrix 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A general cargo ship at the anchorage of the Port of Haifa, Israel. By DmitTrix, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
