Ukraine urges Israel to conduct laboratory analysis of grain from Russian vessel Abinsk
Ukraine has requested a laboratory analysis of grain that may have been taken by Russia from occupied territories and delivered to Israel, United24 reported, citing Haaretz.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Tel Aviv has filed an official complaint with Israeli police against two local companies — Zenziper and Dizengoff Trading. They are suspected of importing wheat that Russia sourced from temporarily occupied territories in eastern Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian diplomats, Dizengoff received a shipment of 43.8 thousand tons of grain, of which about 16.5 thousand tons is believed to be stolen Ukrainian wheat. The cargo was delivered by the vessel Abinsk, which docked at the port of Haifa on April 12.
Ukraine is requesting that grain samples be taken for laboratory testing in order to identify its origin through soil markers characteristic of eastern regions of Ukraine. Kyiv is also calling for the seizure of shipping documents to expose alleged falsification schemes and the illegal origin of the cargo.
According to the investigation, the grain was initially loaded onto smaller vessels — Leonid Pastrikov and Fedor — in the occupied ports of Berdiansk and Sevastopol. It was later transshipped onto the larger vessel Abinsk near the Kavkaz anchorage area in the Black Sea. To conceal the origin of the cargo, the vessel periodically switched AIS off.
Kyiv says the shipment is part of a large-scale maritime smuggling scheme coordinated by Russian supplier Strategic Grain Management, which is registered in Dubai.
At the same time, Ukraine is working with the EU on the possible introduction of sanctions against companies involved in trade in goods originating from occupied territories. The European Union has previously stated its readiness to impose restrictions on participants in such schemes.
Dizengoff Trading, however, said it operates in compliance with international standards and possesses all necessary documentation, while Israel’s Foreign Ministry described the Ukrainian complaint as insufficiently substantiated.
Context: On April 12, 2026, Israel allowed the Russian bulk carrier ABINSK (IMO: 9303869) to unload more than 43.7 thousand tons of wheat that had been illegally exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
