The purchase by Israel of grain from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, which Ukraine considers “stolen,” “cannot be legal,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He added that Kyiv is preparing sanctions against those who seek to profit from it.”Another ship carrying such grain has arrived at an Israeli port and is preparing to unload.

This is not and cannot be legitimate business activity,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying,” the Ukrainian president added.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said yesterday that Israel’s ambassador had been summoned to the ministry after Israel allowed grain cargoes from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories to enter its ports.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Sybiha that Ukraine had provided no evidence to support its claims that the grain is “stolen.”

Kyiv considers all grain produced in the four regions that Russia has claimed as its own since invading Ukraine in 2022, as well as in Crimea — which Russia annexed in 2014 — to have been stolen by Moscow.

Russia refers to the four regions as its “new territories,” but they are still internationally recognized as Ukrainian.”

Russia systematically seizes grain from the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and organizes its trade through persons connected to the occupiers.

Such actions violate the laws of the State of Israel itself,” Zelensky wrote.

The Ukrainian president added that Ukraine expects respect from Israel and urges it to refrain from actions that undermine bilateral relations.