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"Sound and fury signifying nothing" - a very loud spectacle of minor diplo spat between two friendly "victims of aggression" countries, that was fanned by the usual KGB/FSB Russian disinformation and propaganda ops.
Ukrainian FM spokesman H. Tykhyi stressed that "Ukraine is not targeting Israel and provided proof and data" that this shipment was illegal. Consequently, the importer pulled the order and Panama-flagged Panormitis was turned away from Haifa Bay port. According to this data, since 2022 Russia has looted and profited from more than 1.7 million tons of agricultural products worth over 387M euros.
Ship was part of the Russian "shadow fleet" that helps prop up the Kremlin's war economy by concealing or spoofing their location data, and often engage in ship-to-ship transfers of their cargo while at sea to obscure its origin.
Now that Ukraine and Israel "kissed and made up" over manufactured public "much ado about nothing," Ukraine can turn world's attention to re-flagged "shadow fleet" ships with Ukrainian grain that have been headed for and unloaded in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Turkiye... usually with little to no outcry.
Ukraine's FM Andrii Sybiha welcomed the result: "This is a clear signal to all other vessels, captains, operators, insurers, and governments: do not buy stolen Ukrainian grain. Do not become part of this crime."
|------- The Russian bot network "Matryoshka" has circulated videos falsely claiming that an Orthodox rabbi "cursed" President Volodymyr Zelensky due to the dispute, or that Ukraine may bar Israelis from the Uman pilgrimage.
The falsehoods tried to exploit recent diplomatic spat between Ukraine and Israel over cargoes of looted grain from Russia-occupied Ukrainian territories arriving at Israeli ports.
The group said it had detected nine videos published on X and BlueSky on April 29, the same day Israeli and Ukrainian FMs traded accusations.
The clips falsely use logos of established media outlets such as RFI, Euronews, and AFP, combined with unrelated footage and overlaid text - a technique commonly employed by Matryoshka.
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www.sgdsn.gouv.fr - Matryoshka Network (PDF, 16 pg)
It's been very much in Russia's interest to separate Israel and Ukraine from the US and the West.
In other, real UA and IL news:
* At the request of Mohammed bin Zayed Israel provided Iron Dome and 48 specialists to operate it to UAE in early days of Iran op "Roaring Lion," and IAF took out Iran's southern installations and launchers of short-range missiles that would threaten UAE.
* India is now considering Israel a strategic partner, not just as-needed supplier of radars and other military equipment. Modi reaffirmed continuing cooperation with IMEC and I2U2 on his 2-day visit to Israel and ME, he was the first Indian PM to address the Knesset, as Israel stood by and provided support to India during 2025 operation Sindoor:
rohanvenkat.substack.com - Interview: Why Modi went to Israel, India's coordination with UAE and more - 2026-03-16
indiawrites.org - Modi's Israel journey - 2026-02-24
* Japanese drone maker, in cooperation with Ukrainian partner, has developed a cheaper, lighter interceptor drone, which has already been deployed in active combat.
www.japantimes.co.jp - Japan's Terra Drone expands investment in Ukraine drone sector - 2026-04-29
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Oh, this is not going to end in a happy place.