Receiving stolen goods is illegal everywhere, but sometimes it involves unsuspecting individuals who unwittingly purchase stolen goods through platforms like eBay. However, that does not prevent Israel, with one of the world's most sophisticated intelligence services, from purchasing stolen goods from Russia.
That is the view of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who wrote on X that yet another ship loaded with wheat stolen from Ukraine is currently unloading its cargo at one of Israel's ports:
"This is not - and cannot be - legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country's ports and what cargo they are carrying."
This behaviour by Russia, he argues, constitutes systematic looting, and he points out that under Israeli law, it is an illegal act:
"Russia is systematically seizing grain on temporarily occupied Ukrainian land and organizing its export through individuals linked to the occupiers. Such schemes violate the laws of the State of Israel itself."
Israel has not yet commented on the matter, but Ukraine is working on a package of sanctions to punish anyone profiting from the trade in stolen wheat. Zelenskyy concludes his post by noting that Ukraine has contributed to stability in the Middle East and expects mutual respect:
"Ukraine counts on partnership and mutual respect with every state. We are genuinely working to enhance security, particularly in the Middle East region. We expect that the Israeli authorities will respect Ukraine and refrain from actions that undermine our bilateral relations."
