Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened to sanction Israeli individuals and businesses buying grain produced in regions occupied by Russia.
The Ukrainian government is preparing a sanctions package targeting both the people transporting the grain, as well as those on the other side of the transaction in Israel, Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Tuesday.
His announcement heralds escalating tensions between two nations that are both broadly in the same Western camp. Ties, however, have been strained by Israel’s continued relationship with Russia.
Two vessels allegedly carrying looted Ukrainian wheat were headed toward Israel this week to dock in Haifa and unload their cargo. Israeli newspaper Haaretz previously reported that four shipments of stolen grain from Ukraine have already been unloaded in Israel to date.
According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv had taken “all necessary steps through diplomatic channels to prevent such incidents,” but that had not been enough to halt the deliveries.
“This is not — and cannot be — legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying,” he added.
The two sides already traded barbs Monday, when Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Ukraine of not providing evidence for the allegations.
That came in response to remarks by his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, who said it was “difficult to understand Israel’s lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request.”
Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.
