Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is preparing sanctions against individuals linked to grain shipments to Israel from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
“The purchase of stolen goods in all normal countries is an act that entails legal liability. This applies, in particular, to grain stolen by Russia. Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at an Israeli port and is preparing for unloading. This is not and cannot be legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot but know which vessels and with what cargo arrive at the country’s ports.
Russia systematically removes grain from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory and organises its export through individuals connected with the occupiers. Such transactions violate the legislation of the State of Israel itself,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.
He noted that Ukraine had taken all necessary diplomatic steps to prevent such incidents. He added that he had instructed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to inform all partners about the situation with the new vessel.
“Based on information from our intelligence services, Ukraine is preparing a corresponding sanctions package that will cover both those directly transporting this grain and the individuals and legal entities attempting to profit from this criminal scheme. We will coordinate with our European partners to ensure that the relevant persons are included in sanctions regimes,” Zelenskyy added.
The Ukrainian president expressed hope that Israeli authorities would not weaken bilateral relations.
“Ukraine counts on partnership and mutual respect with every state. We are genuinely working to increase security, including in the Middle East region. We expect the Israeli authorities to respect Ukraine and not take steps that weaken bilateral relations,” he said.
