Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky hits out at Israel for buying ‘stolen grain’ in growing rift – UK Times

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Israel’s purchase of grain from occupied Ukrainian territory “stolen” by Russia “cannot be legitimate business” and that Kyiv was readying sanctions against those attempting to profit from it.

“Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload,” Zelensky said on X. “This is not – and cannot be – legitimate business.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Monday it had summoned Israel’s ambassador for not acting to stop Russian shipments of grain from entering the country.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said it was “difficult to understand Israel’s lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request regarding the previous vessel that delivered stolen goods to Haifa”.

“Now that another such vessel has arrived in Haifa, we once again warn Israel against accepting the stolen grain and harming our relations,” he wrote.

Earlier this month, Kyiv urged Israel to detain a Russian ship containing grain taken by Russia from occupied territories.

Ukraine has accused Russia of cannibalising soldiers on the battlefield as basic supplies dwindle.

A Ukrainian intelligence source told The Sunday Times they had evidence of at least five instances of Russian soldiers eating their comrades, according to their fellow soldiers.

Ukrainian military intelligence provided the newspaper with photos and purported intercepts of audio transmissions between senior Russian officers that they say evidence their claims.

In one case, an infantryman was ostensibly caught after killing two soldiers and attempting to eat the leg of one of his victims while stationed near Myrnohrad, in the Donetsk region, in November 2025.

The incidents, if true, were said to be “seemingly isolated and limited in number”, occurring in the winter where supply chains were stretched.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in London said it saw “no reason to comment” on the allegations, calling the claims “fabrications”.

Kim Jong Un has confirmed for the first time that North Korean soldiers follow a policy of killing themselves on the battlefield to avoid capture while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Speaking at the inauguration of a memorial museum dedicated to North Korean soldiers killed in the conflict, the North Korean dictator praised what he described as the “extraordinary heroism” of troops who “unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting, suicide attack”, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea remains the only third party to deploy troops directly to the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as part of a deal that cemented the axis between Vladimir Putin’s invading forces and the east Asian hermit kingdom.

Ukrainian ⁠drone attacks on civilian ⁠cars ​killed ⁠three ⁠people ​and ⁠wounded ‌three others in different ‌districts ‌of ⁠Russia’s Belgorod region, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

An evacuation ⁠was under ⁠way after ​a ⁠Ukrainian ⁠drone ​attack sparked ⁠a ‌major fire at ‌Russia’s Tuapse ‌oil ⁠refinery on the Black Sea, regional ‌governor ​Veniamin Kondratyev ‌said ⁠this morning.

Just hours earlier, authorities said Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery, which has an annual production ⁠capacity of about 12 million metric ⁠tons, or 240,000 barrels per day, turning ‌out naphtha, ​diesel, fuel oil ‌and vacuum gasoil.

It ⁠was the ​latest of ⁠repeated drone attacks in the past few weeks on ⁠the Rosneft-owned refinery and the ​port ⁠of Tuapse that led ‌to an oil spill at sea and a blaze that took several ‌days to put out.

The ‌refinery, which delivers oil products mainly for exports, had stopped operations from 16 ⁠April after a drone attack, industry sources have said.

Ukraine has ramped up its strikes on Russia since March as the US-brokered peace talks have been paused with Washington mainly ‌focusing on the war ​in Iran.

Israel risks a diplomatic and legal response from Kyiv if it allows a vessel carrying grain from Russian-occupied Ukraine to dock at the port of Haifa, a Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters on Monday.

Haaretz reported earlier that the vessel Panormitis, which is reported to be carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territory that Kyiv regards as stolen, was waiting for permission to dock at the Israeli port.

“If this ship and its cargo isn’t rejected, we reserve the right to deploy a full suite of diplomatic and international legal responses,” the Ukrainian source said on condition of anonymity.

Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment.

On Sunday Haaretz reported that four shipments of grain from occupied Ukraine had already been unloaded in Israel this year.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz cautioned against raising hopes for rapid accession, however, saying Ukraine cannot join the bloc while at war and must first meet strict criteria including those regarding the rule of law and on fighting corruption.

“[Volodymyr] Zelensky had the idea of joining the EU on January 1, 2027. That will not work. Even January 1, ‌2028 is not realistic,” Merz said.

He proposed intermediate steps ​such as observer roles for Ukraine in EU institutions, which ‌he said met broad ⁠approval among European leaders at their summit last week in ⁠Cyprus, which Zelensky attended.

The European Union last week approved a €90bn loan ‌to Ukraine, covering most ​of its needs through 2027, ‌but the bloc remains divided over ​the pace of accession talks.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Ukraine might have to lose territory in order to reach a peace deal with Russia, which could in turn bring it closer to EU membership.

“Hopefully, there will eventually be a peace treaty with Russia. Then, possibly, part of Ukraine’s territory will no longer be Ukrainian,” he said, speaking during a discussion with students in Germany’s Marsberg.

He added that Zelensky would need a referendum for such a step, something the Ukrainian leader has previously noted himself.

To pass such a vote, Zelensky will have to tell the Ukrainians: “But I have opened the way to Europe for you,” Merz said.

Merz said that the European Union should offer Kyiv a clear and credible roadmap to the EU amid its accession efforts.

“Ukraine must have a European perspective. We must not lose Ukraine to Russia, but rather tell the people of Ukraine that they have a future in Europe,” he said.

An elderly woman trapped on the frontlines of Ukraine was rescued by a drone on a heroic recovery mission, according to soldiers.

Video shared by the Third Army Corps on Telegram shows an unmanned ground drone arriving to pick the pensioner up on a road under fire in Lyman, eastern Ukraine.

“With no hope of survival, she walked through shell craters and the bodies of fellow villagers — until a robot arrived for her,” the corps said.

They said the robot was covered in a blanket so as to not scare her, and had attached a note that read: “Grandma, sit down!”

The 60th Motorized Rifle Brigade led the four-hour operation to rescue four civilians in the area, they said.