Ukraine thanks Egypt for turning away Russian ship containing 'stolen' Ukrainian grain

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked Egypt on Thursday for turning away a Russian ship loaded with grain which he said had been stolen from Ukraine.

Egypt's supply minister said on Sunday that a ship that had been allowed to sail by Russia had been turned away on the grounds that it did not have the proper paperwork.

Ukraine's embassy in Cairo alleged the ship was carrying grain from Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.

"Spoke with my Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Grateful to Egypt for turning away a Russian ship loaded with grain stolen in Ukraine," Kuleba wrote on Twitter, adding that Ukraine and Egypt had agreed to coordinate efforts to make Russia unblock Ukraine's food exports.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Kuleba's tweet.

Egypt, one of the world's largest wheat importers, normally imports large volumes of Black Sea wheat but shipments have been disrupted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Last month, Ukraine's deputy agriculture minister accused occupying Russian forces of stealing "several hundred thousand tonnes" of grain.

Asked last month about allegations that Russia had stolen Ukrainian grain, the Kremlin denied that was the case and said it did not know where the information came from.

(Reuters)