These past days have been difficult for Ukrainians and Israelis who seek stronger cooperation between the two countries.

Following reports by a Ukrainian journalist Kateryna Yaresko about the Russian vessel ABINSK, – allegedly carrying grain from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, loaded at the anchorage of Russia’s Kavkaz port, – docking at the Port of Haifa, social media on both sides quickly erupted. Largely with unflattering accusations.

This time, however, there’s not much I can do to mitigate the reaction. For Ukraine, as I’ve noted before, anything related to wheat or bread is deeply sensitive. The Soviet regime attempted to starve us multiple times, and that historical trauma still shapes public perception today.

Not to mention that the grain is simply stolen by Russia, which attacked us and occupied our land.

So when Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Thursday that the cargo had been allowed to unload—something also corroborated by my sources at the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel—despite Ukraine’s appeal, several questions arise.

First, why was the vessel allowed to be not just docked but unloaded as well? Second, are the reports by Axios journalist Barak Ravid accurate—that Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar informed his Ukrainian counterpart in a text that the vessel could not be........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)