Good people....
Ukraine Files Police Complaint in Israel Over Alleged Stolen Wheat Imports
According to the Ukrainian Embassy in Tel Aviv, some of the wheat came from occupied Ukrainian territory despite being sold as Russian produce •Dizengoff Trading, which purchased one shipment, said it has 'no future orders for Russian wheat
May 04, 2026
In an unusual move, the Ukrainian Embassy in Tel Aviv filed a complaint with the Israel Police last week against two Israeli companies it alleges were involved in importing wheat stolen by Russia from occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.
The two companies are Zenziper, whose name was revealed by Haaretz last week and which decided not to accept the suspicious shipment, and another company, Dizengoff Trading. According to the complaint, Dizengoff received 43,800 tons of grain, including some 16,500 tons of allegedly stolen wheat, which was unloaded from the ship Abinsk after it docked at Haifa Port on April 12.
Exposed: How Ukrainian wheat stolen by Russia is smuggled to Israel
According to the complaint, the wheat was first loaded onto two smaller ships docked at ports in occupied eastern Ukraine. The Leonid Pastrikov loaded about 7,600 tons at the port of Berdyansk, while the Fedor loaded about 8,900 tons at the port of Sevastopol.
The police complaint alleges the grain supplier was the Russian company Strategic Grain Management, headquartered in Dubai. Haaretz has obtained satellite images showing that the same smaller feeder ships were present at the ports of Berdyansk and Sevastopol on the dates cited by the Ukrainians.
Haaretz Podcast
How a Haaretz investigation into stolen Ukrainian wheat triggered a diplomatic crisis
The Abinsk has often turned off its transponders for extended periods to disappear from international tracking systems. Shipping sources say this method is used to conceal where the cargo was loaded. But on March 17, after being loaded by the two ships that had arrived from occupied ports, it turned its transponders back on and set sail for Israel.On April 12, unloading began at the Dagon silos in Haifa, and the grain was delivered to Dizengoff Trading.
Dizengoff Trading said in response: "Our company has no future orders for Russian wheat." The company added, "Like other importers in the sector, we were surprised to hear about the matter and are waiting to receive instructions from the relevant Israeli authorities. Our company operates according to accepted standards of international trade, and we have all the required documents."
Ukraine is not backing down
Before the embassy filed its formal police complaint, separate complaints were submitted in Israel to the police's Lahav 433 – the umbrella crime-fighting unit – and to the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority by attorney Liora Turlevsky.
Acting on behalf of the Ukrainian Embassy, she alleged offenses including false declarations regarding the origin of the grain, document forgery, fraud and money laundering. The authorities were asked to allow sampling of the cargo for laboratory testing to determine the wheat's origin, as well as to seize the ship's documents and correspondence between those involved in the deal in order to "expose the chain of fraud."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Credit: AFP/Christophe Ena
The filing of an official complaint signed by the embassy itself – rather than by lawyers – marks a significant escalation in efforts to advance the investigation and handling of the case.
Initially, Ukraine preferred to pursue complaints under Israeli law, accusing the companies involved of false declarations or document forgery. Now, alongside its actions in Israel, Ukraine is also engaging with the European Union, seeking sanctions against Israeli companies based on international law. The argument centers on alleged trade in agricultural produce from occupied territory – a claim likely to be sensitive in Israel.
A source in the grain import sector said the Israeli companies fell victim to what he described as a "Russian sting."
"Israeli firms have been buying for years from established, reputable suppliers," he said. "What's been happening recently is that a small portion of the cargo – no more than 20 percent – comes from questionable sources." In the case of the Abinsk shipment received by Dizengoff Trading, however, the share of grain from territory occupied by Russia was higher, at around 33 percent.
Related Articles
- Israeli importer drops shipment of allegedly Russian-stolen Ukrainian grain Liza Rozovsky
- The Israeli importer of allegedly stolen Ukraine grain awaiting Haifa unloading Daniel Schmil
- EU mulls sanctions on Israelis over stolen Ukrainian wheat smuggled by Russia Liza Rozovsky
Difficult to trace the origin
In Ukraine, officials have expressed disappointment with Israel's response. As early as last Thursday, shortly after the complaint was filed, Israel's Foreign Ministry said the Ukrainian complaint "contains information gaps and lacks supporting evidence." However, under mutual legal assistance treaties between states, there is no requirement to submit evidence at this stage, as doing so could compromise the investigation.
Ukraine's ability to investigate the case is limited. The main evidence in its possession consists of satellite images showing ships loading wheat at ports in occupied territory and later transferring the cargo to larger vessels that sailed to Israel. To establish the grain's origin, Ukrainian authorities are seeking the samples they requested, which could be analyzed for soil markers characteristic of eastern Ukraine.
Around 90 percent of the wheat consumed in Israel is imported, with Russia the country's largest supplier. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, imports from Russia have surged, while imports from Ukraine – previously Israel's leading wheat exporter until 2021 – have declined.
Ukraine's economic and legal campaign against the smuggling of stolen grain could alter this dynamic, as it has become increasingly difficult to trace the true origin of wheat presented as Russian.
