Ukraine is preparing sanctions for the transportation of grain stolen by Russia to Israel, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on social media on Tuesday, UNN reports.
Purchasing stolen goods in all normal countries is an act that entails legal liability. This applies, in particular, to grain stolen by Russia. Another vessel with such grain has arrived at an Israeli port and is preparing for unloading. This is not and cannot be clean business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which vessels and with what cargo are arriving at the country's ports
The President pointed out that "Russia systematically takes grain from temporarily occupied Ukrainian land and organizes the export of such grain by persons associated with the occupiers." "Such deals violate the laws of the State of Israel itself. Ukraine has taken all necessary steps through diplomatic channels to prevent such incidents. However, we see that yet another such vessel has not been stopped. I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to inform all our state's partners about the situation," the Head of State noted.
Ukraine, based on information from our intelligence services, is preparing a corresponding sanctions package that will cover both those who directly transport this grain and those individuals and legal entities who try to profit from such a criminal scheme. We will also coordinate with European partners so that the relevant persons are included in European sanctions regimes
The President stressed: "Ukraine counts on partnership relations and mutual respect with every state. We are truly working to ensure that there is more security, including in the Middle East region. We expect that the Israeli authorities will respect Ukraine and will not take steps that weaken bilateral relations."
Addendum
According to Haaretz, the EU is considering sanctions against Israeli individuals and legal entities that help Russia circumvent international sanctions imposed on it, and is demanding information from Israel regarding Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia and imported to Israel.