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Egypt Lets Ship With Stolen Ukrainian Grain Unload Despite Kyiv’s Warnings, Foreign Minister Says
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Egypt has allowed a vessel carrying what Ukraine considers is stolen grain from temporarily occupied territories to unload in its ports, despite formal legal requests from Kyiv to detain the shipment.
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According to a statement by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on May 5, the ship ASOMATOS was permitted to discharge approximately 26,900 tons of wheat at the port of Abu Qir. Ukrainian officials say the cargo originated from temporarily occupied territories and was exported via Crimea.
Sybiha stated that this marks the fourth recorded case since April in which stolen Ukrainian grain has been processed through Egyptian ports. “Despite repeated warnings, the vessel ‘ASOMATOS’ was allowed to unload 26.9 thousand tons of stolen Ukrainian wheat in Abu Qir,” he said.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General had sent an official request for legal assistance to Egypt’s Ministry of Justice five days prior to the vessel’s arrival.
The request included documentation and legal grounds for the arrest of both the ship and its cargo. Ukrainian authorities said the shipment was exported by the sanctioned company Agro-Fregat through temporarily occupied Crimea.
Sybiha also noted that Ukraine had historically played a significant role in ensuring Egypt’s food security. “Ukraine is a country that for many years has played the role of a reliable guarantor of Egypt’s food security, and we do not understand why Egyptian partners repay us by continuing to accept stolen Ukrainian grain,” he said.
He called on Egypt to adhere to international law and bilateral commitments. “Stolen goods from occupied territories must be confiscated, not accepted. Looting is not trade, but complicity that only fuels further aggression,” the minister added.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyiv has documented several similar incidents involving shipments routed through ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov as part of what officials describe as a “shadow grain fleet” used by Russia to distribute agricultural products taken from occupied regions.
The development follows earlier diplomatic tensions involving other countries. In April, vessels suspected of carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territories were allowed to unload in Israel’s Haifa port, despite prior warnings from Kyiv.
Egypt remains the world’s largest wheat importer, and its procurement decisions are closely watched as indicators of global supply trends.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Egypt had assured Ukraine it would not accept grain originating from occupied territories following a conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The latest case suggests those assurances may not be consistently enforced.
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