EU 'ready' to sanction Israel over Russian vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain

Published on 28/04/2026 - 13:57 GMT+2

The European Union has warned Israel that it is acceptable to enforce sanctions connected those aiding and abetting the commercialized of Ukrainian atom stolen by Russia successful the occupied territories, aft a caller vessel loaded with the cereal arrived successful the larboard of Haifa.

"The EU has taken enactment of the reports that a Russian shadiness fleet vas carrying stolen Ukrainian atom has been allowed to unload astatine Haifa larboard successful Israel, contempt erstwhile contacts of Ukraine with Israeli authorities connected the subject," a European Commission spokesperson told Euronews.

"We condemn each actions that assistance money Russia's amerciable warfare effort and circumvent EU sanctions, and stay acceptable to people specified actions by listing individuals and entities successful 3rd countries if necessary," the spokesperson added.

"We person approached the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs connected the issue."

The accomplishment of the Panama-flagged vas successful Haifa has escalated tensions betwixt Ukraine and Israel. The vessel, named Panormitis and allegedly carrying implicit 6,200 tonnes of wheat and 19,000 tonnes of barley, has yet to unload. However, a shipment of stolen Ukrainian atom was allowed to proceed earlier this month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Israel to cull the Russian vas and said his authorities would commencement preparing "relevant sanctions", successful coordination with Europeans, against those "attempting to nett from this transgression scheme".

Kyiv antecedently asked Brussels to deploy "all imaginable instruments" to cripple Moscow's planetary income of plundered grain, including utilizing Frontex, the bloc's borderline power agency.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the Panormitis would beryllium "examined" and nationalist authorities would "act successful accordance with the law".

EU-level sanctions necessitate unanimity among the 27 subordinate states, and respective Russian individuals person already been blacklisted implicit the seizure of Ukrainian grain. In 2024, the bloc agreed tariffs connected atom products from Russia and Belarus to ace down connected the commercialized of stolen merchandise.

Unanimity, however, has been hard to unafraid successful cases involving Israel, wherever crisp divisions stay among subordinate states.

The quality comes astatine a fraught clip successful EU-Israel relations implicit the warfare successful the Middle East. The Israeli violative successful Lebanon, presently paused nether a fragile ceasefire, has revived the statement astir suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Spain, Ireland and Slovenia are among thosecalling for punitiveaction successful effect to the deadly strikes connected Lebanese cities. However, Germany and Italy stay connected the obstruction - and their enactment would beryllium cardinal for the qualified bulk needed to suspend the pact.

Israel's caller determination to present a instrumentality applying the decease punishment targeted astatine Palestinians has besides raised questions astir whether the state is abiding by Article 2 of the agreement, which sets binding obligations to respect quality rights.

Last year, an interior reappraisal by the European External Action Service (EEAS) recovered that Israel had breached Article 2 done systematic violations of planetary instrumentality successful Gaza.