Israel tells Ukraine too late to seize Russian grain ship as it left Haifa — report

Jerusalem said to have known about ship allegedly holding stolen Ukrainian grain for two weeks before it arrived; if confirmed, Israel would have violated sanctions

Israel reportedly told Ukraine on Thursday that it was too late to act against a Russian vessel accused of carrying stolen Ukrainian grain, as the ship had already departed Haifa Port.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sent a message to his Ukrainian counterpart saying the vessel can no longer be detained, Channel 12 news and Axios reporter Barak Ravid said. The reporter said Israel had been aware of it two weeks before it arrived.

Ravid quoted senior Ukrainian officials as saying that they made clear to Israel they were demanding the confiscation of the wheat cargo.

The development came after Ukraine on Tuesday accused Israel of allowing the Russian ship ABINSK — allegedly loaded with grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory — to dock in Haifa.

Kyiv had urged Israel to block the vessel before it docked, with Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk raising the issue with Israeli officials and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha discussing it directly with Sa’ar.

The Kyiv Post noted on Wednesday that the Haifa Port serves as a regional hub for imports and exports, particularly with shipping disrupted in the Gulf amid the Iran war, and that it was therefore unclear whether the grain was meant for an Israeli domestic market or was to be shipped overland.

If the vessel is confirmed to contain stolen Ukrainian grain, the incident could mean that Israel has run afoul of sanctions imposed by the US and international community in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ties between Israel and Ukraine have been delicate since the Russian invasion began in 2022.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to maintain a neutral stance between Moscow and Kyiv, even though Russia has been providing critical intelligence to Iran in the US-Israel war against Iran.

Ukraine has sought to purchase Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, but Netanyahu ruled that out to avoid antagonizing Russia.

Israeli officials routinely defended this stance when Russia controlled the skies over Syria before the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in 2024. Since then, some Israeli officials have been willing to break more publicly with Moscow, but Netanyahu has avoided doing so.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.