Ukraine is seeking Turkey to refuse to unload “stolen grain” delivered by a Russian ship

We are talking about the cargo ship Panormitis under the flag of Panama, on board of which, according to the Ukrainian side, there are about 6,200 tons of wheat and 19,000 tons of barley from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

At the end of April, Kyiv demanded that Israel arrest the ship and cargo, seize documentation, take grain samples and interview the crew. The Israeli Foreign Ministry then stated that Ukraine did not provide sufficient evidence, but in the end the Israeli importing company refused to accept the cargo, and the ship left Israeli waters without unloading.

Now, according to Ukrainian sources, a similar package of documents has been transferred to the Turkish authorities through the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara. Kyiv claims that the package includes a Ukrainian court warrant for the arrest of the vessel and cargo, satellite monitoring data and materials confirming the transshipment of grain in Russian waters. Officially, Ukraine warns that the purchase or unloading of such grain will be considered as participation in the legalization of stolen property and may entail sanctions consequences for port operators, buyers and other participants in the transaction.

The Ukrainian side emphasizes that it applies the same logic to Turkey that it previously applied to Israel: if the cargo could not be unloaded in Haifa, it should not be accepted in Iskenderun. Kyiv calls such transportation part of the Russian “shadow grain flotilla” and states that it will monitor ships transporting agricultural products from the occupied territories, regardless of the country of destination. Following the decision not to unload Panormitis in Israel, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called this a confirmation of the effectiveness of Kyiv’s diplomatic and legal efforts.

The ship’s operating company previously denied Ukraine’s accusations: a representative of the Greek Royal Maritime Inc told Reuters that all available documents, including a certificate of origin, indicate the Russian origin of the cargo. Ukraine, in turn, considers all agricultural goods exported from territories occupied by Russia after 2014 and 2022 to be illegally appropriated.