The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has initiated the arrest of the sea vessel PANORMITIS and its cargo as part of a scheme to legalize Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia. Israel has already received a relevant package of documents from Ukraine.
Points of attention
- This case highlights the importance of upholding international maritime laws and holding accountable those involved in looting under foreign flags.
- Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized that the era of impunity for such crimes is over and pledged to continue identifying offending vessels and pursuing justice for war crimes against Ukraine.
Ukraine seeks concrete solutions from Israel
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, made a statement on this matter.
According to the latter, Israel must arrest the ship and cargo, conduct a search, seize ship and cargo documentation, take grain samples, and interrogate crew members.
According to the investigation, PANORMITIS is transporting grain, partially exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The products were loaded after transshipment from another vessel. It is currently heading to the port of Haifa. Investigators have documented the facts of the vessel's illegal entry into closed ports of Ukraine. This is a gross violation of Ukrainian legislation and the norms of international maritime law.
Ruslan Kravchenko
Prosecutor General of Ukraine
Against this background, Kravchenko recalled that over the past 4 years, Russia has stolen more than 1.7 million tons of agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
What is important to understand is that this actually deprived our country's budget of over 20 billion UAH.
The Prosecutor General emphasized that the time of impunity for looting under foreign flags is over.
"We continue to systematically identify each offending vessel and work to bring to justice all those involved in war crimes against Ukraine. We continue to work," Kravchenko concluded.
