Russia delivered at least 4 shipments of stolen Ukrainian grain to Israel in a year

This year, four shipments of stolen Ukrainian grain have already been unloaded in Israel. Another suspicious vessel arrived in Haifa Bay on Sunday morning, April 26, and is awaiting its turn to enter the port. This is stated in the investigation of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The material notes that this is not the first case of importing such grain into the Israeli market. In particular, in 2023, about a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least two ships with stolen grain arrived in Israel, and at least one of them was unloaded in the port of Haifa. These conclusions are based on documents, analysis of ship tracking data and satellite images.

The behavior of seven more ships that unloaded in Israel in 2023 raised suspicions of attempts to hide the origin of the cargo. In addition, the internal logs of Russian administrations in occupied Ukrainian ports recorded more than 30 shipments of stolen grain destined for Israel.

How the scheme works

According to the investigation, the bulk carriers arriving in Israel did not load grain in Russian ports. Instead, they were loaded approximately 10 kilometers from the coast during so-called ship-to-ship (STS) transshipments. These operations took place south of the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, between Russian territory on one side and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory on the other.

Before arriving in Israel, some of the vessels received cargo from large ships that Russia uses as floating granaries. Others received cargo from smaller vessels that deliver grain directly from the occupied territories.

During STS operations, the vessels turn off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) so that they cannot be tracked. This is generally considered a violation of the rules of the International Maritime Organization.

The process of transshipment at sea is not illegal. However, the fact that the ships turned off their AIS near Ukrainian ports and during STS operations, and turned it on a few days later, already loaded with wheat, increases suspicions that they were taking the stolen grain in occupied ports.

After loading at sea, the bulk carriers headed for Israel with their communication system already turned on. A few days later, they unloaded the wheat at designated berths in the ports of Haifa and Ashdod.

Haaretz used MarineTraffic data, Planet Labs satellite imagery, and the EU’s Copernicus program to track the ships’ routes.

Recall that on April 12, 2026, Israel allowed the Russian bulk carrier ABINSK (IMO: 9303869) to enter the port of Haifa. The ship delivered 43.7 thousand tons of wheat exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Tags: Russia, Israel, grain stolen, Ukraine