Ukraine has intensified its systematic response to the illegal grain trade from temporarily occupied territories. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this, emphasizing the importance of cooperation with international partners to align sanction mechanisms.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Coordination of Actions with International Partners
According to Zelensky, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha informed about the progress of contacts with foreign colleagues regarding the fight against Russia’s shadow fleet. Special attention has been given to the vessels used by Russia to transport grain illegally exported from temporarily occupied Ukrainian regions. The Ukrainian side has strengthened its efforts to synchronize sanctions and track such trade schemes.
“Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha reported on such and other contacts. In particular, we are working more systematically on Russia’s shadow grain fleet – on the vessels used to transport grain that was stolen from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine,” Zelensky stated.
Legal Cooperation with Israel and Response to Violations
Volodymyr Zelensky noted the “acute” area of cooperation with Israel, which involves diplomats and representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor General. The main goal is to create an effective system to counter shadow transport not only of grain but also of oil carried out by Russian vessels.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine recently sent documents to Israel for the arrest of the Russian vessel PANORMITIS, which, according to the investigation, may be involved in the legalization of illegally exported grain from occupied territories. At the same time, the Israeli side reported “significant factual gaps” in the submitted request, and the vessel has already left the territorial waters of the country.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, since the beginning of the full-scale aggression by Russia, more than 1.7 million tons of agricultural products worth over 20 billion hryvnias have been illegally exported from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has also recorded several cases where shipments of Ukrainian agricultural products, illegally exported by Russia from occupied regions, have arrived in Israel.