Ukraine's top prosecutor and foreign minister said Thursday that a vessel containing grain, which Ukraine claims was stolen from areas under Russian occupation, will not be unloaded in Israel. This came after Kyiv asked Israel to seize this cargo.

Ruslan Kravchenko said in the Telegram app of Ukraine that the Panormitis vessel left Israel's territorial water and departed into neutral seas following "a variety of procedural steps taken by Ukraine".

He said that the Israeli authorities had begun processing the request based on the materials provided by the Ukrainians within the framework for international legal co-operation.

Manager of the Panama-flagged ship was not available to comment immediately.

Andrii Sybiha of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, in a letter to X, called it a "welcomed development", adding that Ukraine would continue to track this vessel and warn any operations with it.

This is also a "clear" signal to all other ships, captains and operators, insurance companies, governments, and insurers: don't buy grain from Ukraine that has been stolen. Sybiha warned, "Do not be a part of this criminal act." The Jerusalem Post, among other outlets, reported earlier Thursday that Israel's Grain Importers Association had issued a statement stating that the company responsible for importing the grain was forced to return the vessel. Zenziper - the company named in the reports as being the importer - did not respond immediately to an email request for comment. Kyiv has declared that all grain produced by the four regions which Russia 'claimed' as its own after invading Ukraine 2022, as well as Crimea - annexed by Russia in 2014 - is stolen. It has also protested against its export to other countries. Moscow hasn't commented on the legality of grain harvested in areas that are still internationally recognized as Ukrainian. This week, Ukraine and Israel traded barbs as Kyiv denounced what it called purchases of grain grown in Ukrainian territory now occupied by Russia. Oren 'Marmorstein, spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, wrote on X on Wednesday that 'Kyiv has yet to prove that grain is stolen. Marmorstein didn't immediately respond to an inquiry about the cargo on Thursday. (Reporting and editing by Mark Potter, Tomaszjanowski and Mark Potter)

(source: Reuters)