Allegations that Israel is getting grain shipments from Russian-occupied Ukraine have sparked a diplomatic dispute.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, "another vessel" carrying grain "stolen by Russia" has reached an Israeli port and is getting ready to unload.
He cautioned that the inability of Israeli officials to stop the grain shipments was damaging bilateral relations and stated that they "cannot be unaware" of what was inside the ships landing at their nation's ports.
Gideon Saar, Israel's foreign minister, stated that it disapproved of this "Twitter diplomacy" and that the Ukrainian government had not shown proof to back up its statements.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, said he "would rather not comment on this in any way or get involved in this matter" to reporters.After the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that four ships carrying grain from occupied Ukraine had already been unloaded in Israel this year, the conflict between Israel and Ukraine broke out.
According to the article, another ship carrying what appeared to be similar grain arrived at Haifa Bay early on Sunday morning and was awaiting its turn to enter the port.
Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister of Ukraine, wrote on X on Monday night that his office had called the Israeli ambassador to Kyiv to express disapproval of what he called "Israel's lack of appropriate response to Ukraine's legitimate request regarding the previous vessel that delivered stolen goods to Haifa."

"Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we once again warn Israel against accepting the stolen grain and harming our relations," he said.
Saar quickly retaliated by informing his counterpart that friendly states did not engage in diplomatic affairs through the media or online."Israel is a state that abides by the rule of law with independent law enforcement authorities," he said on X. "The matter will be examined."
Zelensky entered the dispute on Tuesday morning, stating that "this is not - and cannot be - legitimate business" in a statement.The laws of the State of Israel itself are violated by such schemes, he declared."We expect that the Israeli authorities will respect Ukraine and refrain from actions that undermine our bilateral relations," he said.
Additionally, the president stated that Ukraine and European nations were working on a "relevant sanctions package" that would target those who transport the grain and profit from its sale.
According to Ukraine's foreign ministry, despite formal requests to Israeli authorities to detain the ship and its cargo, the Russian-flagged bulk carrier Abinsk was unloaded at an Israeli port in mid-April and permitted to depart.
Additionally, it claimed that Israeli officials had disregarded a plea to take action on another ship, Panormitis, that was getting close to the port of Haifa.
During a news conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Saar was questioned about Zelensky's remarks.He clarified that it was impossible to confirm Ukrainian allegations that the document describing the cargo had been falsified as the ship in question had not yet arrived Haifa port and had not yet turned in its paperwork.No request for legal aid has been made by the Ukrainian government. It has sent in tweets. When the allegations involve crimes committed overseas, this is necessary," he stated. "Nor has the Ukrainian government provided evidence for its claims."
"We reject Twitter diplomacy and will not be influenced by that," Saar continued. We remind our Ukrainian friends to report any proof of theft through the proper methods.

Anouar El Anouni, a spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign policy, told the BBC that the organization has "taken note of the reports that a Russian shadow fleet vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has been allowed to unload at Haifa port in Israel."We denounce all activities that support Russia's illicit war effort and evade EU sanctions, and we are prepared to tackle such activities by identifying people and organisations in third countries if needed," he declared.
Evidence of Russia "illegally appropriating large volumes of [grain] products in territories of Ukraine, which it illegally occupies, and routing them to its export markets as allegedly Russian products" was reported by the EU in 2024.