A ship carrying grain that Ukraine says was stolen from Russia will not be unloaded in Israel, Israeli media reported on Thursday, after Kiev asked Israel to seize the cargo.
The Jerusalem Post and other media outlets cited a statement from the Israel Grain Importers Association, saying that the company importing the grain had been forced to turn the ship back.
Ukraine and Israel have traded diplomatic criticism this week, with Kiev condemning what it said were purchases of grain produced in Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia. It threatened sanctions against those trying to profit from the grain.
Kiev considers all grain produced in the five regions that Russia has occupied, including Crimea, stolen, and has protested their export by Russian firms to other countries.
Moscow claims the five regions as part of its territory. They are internationally recognized as Ukrainian. Moscow has not commented on the legal status of the grain harvested there.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on Wednesday in X that Kiev had not yet provided any evidence that the grain had been stolen.
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