Amid a growing diplomatic incident, Israel said Tuesday it had yet to receive evidence that a shipment of Russian grain had been “stolen” from occupied Ukrainian territory, while Kyiv said it was preparing sanctions against those involved in the transaction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post to X, wrote: “In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability. This applies, in particular, to grain stolen by Russia. Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload.”

“This is not – and cannot be – legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying,” he said.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, however, pushed back against the allegation, reiterating an accusation that Kyiv was conducting “Twitter diplomacy” and failing to provide evidence for the Russian cargo’s purportedly illicit origin.

“Up until this point, the Ukrainian government has not submitted a request for legal assistance. They submitted tweets,” he said at a press conference, alongside visiting Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Duric. “Nor has the Ukrainian government provided evidence for its claims.”

Sa’ar said he had spoken with the Israel Tax Authority on the matter, but stressed that, at this stage, “the vessel has not entered the port and has yet to submit its documents,” and that it is impossible to verify claims that shipping records were forged.

Israel, he added, “is a state that abides by the rule of law,” and any legal action must be based on substantiated evidence submitted through proper channels.

“We say again to our Ukrainian friends: If you have any evidence of theft, submit it through the appropriate........

© The Times of Israel