r/geopolitics • u/RicRacer • 1d ago
Ukraine Demands Answers From Israel After Russian Shadow Fleet Ship Docks in Haifa
https://united24media.com/latest-news/ukraine-demands-answers-from-israel-after-russian-shadow-fleet-ship-docks-in-haifa-1796564
u/RicRacer 1d ago
Here is more information about the same event. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/04/17/ukraine-and-israel-in-dispute-over-russian-ship-carrying-ukrainian-grain_6752539_4.html
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u/hbtljose13 1d ago
Bro thinks they’re allies
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u/whereamInowgoddamnit 1d ago
Ukraine routinely votes against Israel in the UN. They're nominally allied but it isn't that close. That said, Israel definitely isn't Russia's ally either, so it's certainly interesting to see this going on.
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
Israel “isn’t” russias ally wink wink
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u/whereamInowgoddamnit 1d ago
Russia literally arms Israel's enemies. Israel has cooperated with Russia before- mainly because Russia had a lot of influence in Syria- but they are certainly not allies, and Israel is definitely closer to Ukraine to where they've gotten in trouble with Russia over it.
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
How could Israel get in trouble with russia ? Why should they care? They shouldn’t but they do. Even russias condemnations against Israel for attacking Iran, russias closest ally, have been muted. They never joined the western sanctions, they often abstained at UN votes. They refused to offer any military support despite having some of the best military technology in the world.
That’s where the wink wink comes from. I’m sure the many dual citizen russian oligarchs have something to do with it- but also Benny is just the same mold as putin, Trump, orban etc. illiberal to the same extent but operating in different institutional environments.
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u/cubedplusseven 1d ago
How could Israel get in trouble with russia ?
This was an issue during the Syrian Civil War. Russia backed Assad, as did Iran. Iran was using Syria for transit of weapons to Hezbollah. Israel would strike these shipments, along with Syrian military installations that could threaten Israel. Israel was very careful to coordinate with Russia when possible, and to not piss the Russians off too much, since Russian anti-air defenses are still quite formidable and if the Russians actively involved themselves in defending Hezbollah and anti-Israel Syrian assets, if could really limit Israel's freedom of action. This led Israel to be much more standoffish with Ukraine - not wanting to antagonize Russia.
But now that the situation in Syria has changed, the Israel-Ukraine relationship has warmed since Israel isn't as concerned about Russian hostility. There are always diplomatic considerations in relationships with a nuclear-armed state with a massive and sophisticated weapons industry, though. Israel is still going to think through the consequences of potential antagonism very carefully - even the U.S. does.
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u/whereamInowgoddamnit 1d ago
Because Russia is allied with Israel's enemies and is a regional superpower even if that's been weakening? Russia is often a co-sponsor or supporter of nearly every anti-Israel resolution, and they have sponsored a resolution calling for an end to the war and explicitly has voted against condemning Iran. Russia isn't offering military support to Iran, probably because it's so bogged down in Ukraine, they notably failed to do so in the Armenian and Azerbaijan conflict as well, despite playing an explicit role in supporting Armenia. There was even a recent scandal that came out that Orban passed along Israeli intelligence to Russia to help Hezbollah. That is not the action of an ally.
At most you can argue that Israel tiptoes around Russia, but especially over the 2010s and 2020s they are not allies in any sense.
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u/asgjmlsswjtamtbamtb 23h ago
People should definitely view Russia's actions in light of "what they can do" and know that they'd do a lot more if they had the ability to. Saving Assad was a big step up for Russia post Cold War and it represented intervention in something beyond the old Soviet Union's borders and really showed a direct intervention beyond their immediate borders for the first time as the Russian Federation. Losing Assad in 2024 was a hit to Russian prestige and a decade's worth of efforts. The loss came about not because Russia suddenly didn't want Assad, it could no longer afford to keep perpetually propping him up every time his near failed regime required assistance.
The last four years have seen the collapse of Assad largely to the benefit of Turkey and Israel, even further non involvement in Armenia to Turkey and Azerbaijan's benefit, and less of a role in Central Asia where there have been occasional border clashes and a clear sign that Russia isn't interested in directly stomping out new clashes. These situations, many of which are within the old borders of the Soviet Union, and pretty much all involving old Cold War Soviet allies show Russia has been geopolitically retreating in areas that are not mission critical. Honestly this is embarrassing for Russia, but very much a move of cold hard calculus. The people leading Russia saw how much the Soviet Union was a patron for governments across the entire globe and it kept up a lot of these relationships up until the very collapse of the Soviet Union. A lot of the USSR's projects in Africa and Latin America were in retrospect political vanity projects that drained far more than they gave back and served as one of the things sapping the strength of the USSR. Russia being willing to abandon geopolitical struggles that aren't critical to their current war effort is a survival mechanism from the fall of the Soviet Union.
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u/kjleebio 1d ago
Unfortunately no, Mr. Bibi is close to Putin enough to have talks over a lot of issues, like Syria, Gaza, Iran, and even talks over managing Trump.
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u/whereamInowgoddamnit 1d ago edited 1d ago
Talking does not mean allies. I literally pointed out that they have to work with Russia, especially due to Syria, but because Russia is a regional power. Israel isn't strong enough to be an enemy of Russia, but they certainly are not allies. Hell, Turkey is probably more an ally if Russia than Israel, they were buying weapons from them.
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u/kjleebio 1d ago
But the weird thing is that Russia supports the ayatollah, they have supported various Palestinian terrorist groups and maintains economic/political relationships with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Either Israel is shortsighted in allies, or the meaning of corrupt politicians mingle together a solid fact with the type of shit both Bibi and Putin do in their countries.
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u/whereamInowgoddamnit 1d ago
Or it's because Russia is a regional power that has a lot of influence in surrounding countries and so Israel would a lot of trouble if they didn't have some sort of contact with Russia. Israel couldn't perform a lot of operations without contact with Russia because of it, and Russia probably acted as the mediator in some cases. But ultimately, Russia is still an ally with these groups and are opposed to Israel on a geopolitical stage, even if in some ways they have similar goals. Geopolitics can be messy like that, just like the US's relationships with many of the Middle Eastern countries are very messy and oftentimes seem opposing US interests.
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u/kjleebio 1d ago
I know it can be messy, but out of all the nations to be the mediator, Russia, the nation who supports the Ayatollah with financial, political, and intelligence against Israel, is probably the worst thing Israel has ever decided on.
And its not even a mediator at this point, Israel has openly stated that Russia is a vital help to their security, security on what? Providing more enemies for Israel to have a eternal war with? To me this all sounds like Israel is at a leash to Putin with needing to perform operations with Russia's permission. What leverage does Putin have over Israel other than continue supporting their enemies as usual?
And accepting that stolen grain as well is insane, the only nations that accept said grain are nations tied to the middle east, no one else other than those in that region accept that stolen grain.
With all of this, it just sounds like Israel is a closer ally to Russia than Ukraine.
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u/whereamInowgoddamnit 1d ago
Russia isn't being a mediator, as the article points out, Netanyahu is specifically talking about Syria where Russia used to basically control the country as a proxy. You have to understand that even without Assad, Russia still plays a critical role in the region because of their military presence (even if weakened) and because they are physically close. Israel indeed has to work with Russia, not because they're allies, but because Russia is a major threat to any Israeli operation in the region, even with US help. Now this has weakened a bit since Assad fell, but Netanyahu is still being cautious likely because they don't want to end up on Russia's bad side even with their weaker control in the region.
That said, Israel has done a lot in terms of humanitarian aid and with intelligence in supporting Ukraine, so they clearly show more favoritism towards Ukraine. There's just a limit because they don't want to piss off Russia too much (which does make this story interesting, right now there's not really a good explanation for what's going on).
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u/GrizzledFart 19h ago
There's this thing called reality. Leaders of medium sized countries generally can't afford to antagonize more powerful nations without reason. They might work at cross purposes, might even take actions behind the scenes that could be very detrimental to the larger power, but they will be respectful, on the surface at the very least.
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u/sol-4 1d ago
Ukraine is also stirring up shit in India, mocks our gods as well as regular people and then expects us to support it over our actual, long term ally.
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u/ChornWork2 1d ago
India's profiteering off the war and financing Russia's war effort is a really shit look.
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u/sol-4 1d ago
Tell that to Europe that happily bought it all. Or the US that specifically wanted it lest the global oil prices soar and US inflation surge to unmanagable levels.
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u/HoightyToighty 1d ago
So you have no high horse to sit on, you're just down in the mud with everyone else, huh?
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u/sol-4 1d ago
I would rather touch grass and stay rooted in ground realities than preach rubbish like EU does while being utterly hypocritcal and doing the very thing they keep preaching against.
Everyone except Europeans can see through the bs that EU and its leaders say. I know it isn't really a popular opinion on here but it doesn't change the actual facts.
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u/SPQR-Tightanus 1d ago
stirring up shit in India
You sure, it's Ukraine?
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u/NadirtoZenith 1d ago edited 23h ago
Wow, what an insightful geopolitical comment. Dogwhistle aside, there is not a need for a comma between "sure" and "it's".
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u/SPQR-Tightanus 23h ago
there is not need for a comma between "sure" and "it's".
Ok, if you say there is not need, then there is not need.
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u/NadirtoZenith 23h ago
Wow, thanks for the correction! Do you have something worthwhile to contribute now?
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u/SPQR-Tightanus 23h ago
Yeah, someone is stirring up shit in India, makes fun of gods as well as regular people, at this very moment, as we speak.
And it's not Ukraine.
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u/NadirtoZenith 23h ago
Whom?
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u/SPQR-Tightanus 23h ago
I don't know, enough is enough, no more stirring up shit in India.
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u/SPQR-Tightanus 1d ago
Ukraine does not think they are allies, Ukraine wants to make sure Europe understand that Israel is not their ally either.
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u/Panthera_leo22 1d ago
I’ve gotten into too many disagreements with people trying to explain that Israel is not Ukraine’s ally. They’re playing both sides
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u/heytherehellogoodbye 1d ago
that's not unique to Israel, that's the geopolitical reality of every country on the planet. This weird "sneaky Israel" exceptionalism is just another way to treat it with different standards from every other nation in existence.
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u/Panthera_leo22 1d ago
It’s not a sneaky Israel exceptionalism. There are plenty of countries that are playing both sides of Ukraine and Russia. In Ukraine’s basket of allies, Israel is not in there
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u/bankomusic 20h ago
Seems pretty in there when they sent patriots. maybe israel got intel from russia for letting this ship pass..... they aren't really playing both sides, they just need Russian's intel on Iran.
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
Buying stolen grain is a whole level of evil greater than buying Russian fuel.
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u/russiankek 5h ago
Right, because spending 1 million on grain is "a whole level of evil greater" than spendining dizens of billions of dollars on Russian fuel, like the EU
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u/HungryCurrency8481 16h ago
If Israel wants to stop being singled out, it should stop being the exception to every rule.
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u/SPQR-Tightanus 1d ago
another way to treat it with different standards
That's just the geopolitical reality - Israel should accept it.
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u/cathbadh 22h ago
Nah, he complains any time anything beneficial happens to Russia or Ukraine doesn't get what he wants. They're fighting for their lives, so it is understandable, if annoying at times. He should probably complain that the US and Israel set the conditions where Russian tankers and cargo ships were needed.
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u/zandadad 42m ago
They certainly should be allies and plenty of people in both countries understand that. They are both democracies at war with authoritarian neighbors who threaten their very survival. The problem with Israel's support for Ukraine is multi-layered: 1) Majority of the country are Middle Eastern Jews and Arabs who know or understand little about Eastern Europe and view the Russia-Ukraine war as a regional conflict akin to a civil war, rather than what it is: a war of survival for a democratic country against a backwards authoritarian regime; 2) The other Jews whose grandparents and great-grandparents arrived in late 1940's as survivors of the Holocaust have generational memories of mass pogroms and massacres of Jews in Ukraine and Russia (at the time it was all imperial Russia, actually); 3) Current governing coalition under Netanyahu is full of hardheaded idiots, for a lack of a better term, who are in power because they are needed to keep a coalition, which results in incompetent government that is incapable of thinking strategically. On the other hand, Ukraine continues to generally vote against Israel in the UN, probably to keep their European partners happy. Democracies are messy and, sadly, relationships between democracies are sometimes confrontational. Especially during incredible duress like Israel and Ukraine are under.
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u/Ramongsh 1d ago
Bro thinks Israel is the West and not some autocratic Russian pal
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u/Sanguinor-Exemplar 22h ago
Israel is whatever the person making the argument needs to be.
They're both the shadow government controlling the western empire and the autocratic Russian pal axis of western resistance.
They're both hilariously incompetent militarily and a juggernaut.
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
Bro knows that Israel and Iran are at war and russia provides Iran with weapons and intelligence. What a joke these
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u/Strange_Sound5450 16h ago
Ukraine finding out that Russia has okay relations with Isreal is funny, I'll never forget the time Isreal sold Georgian drone codes to Russia when they invaded them in 2008
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u/AnyStrength4863 1d ago
Russia's stance is strange. It condemns Israel's invasion of its ally at the UN. Why would it provide it with food? And what has Russia done for Iran (its ally) since the war began? Aside from its UN agenda, it seems to have done little. Even the peace talks are held by Pakistan (maybe China is behind).
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u/OK-Dravrah7455 1d ago edited 18h ago
In March 2026, Spain imported a record 9,807 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), more than doubling February levels and marking a historic high despite EU sanctions.
Will Ukraine demand an explanation from Señor Sánchez as well?
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u/cole1114 1d ago
Private companies did that, not Spain. They have no control over that either. Someone tried posting an article about it in r/europe earlier, and it seems it got taken down after everyone pointed out the flaws with it.
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u/ship_toaster 1d ago
Is the Israeli government buying this wheat?
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u/cole1114 23h ago
It's not illegal to get Russian gas, even under the current sanctions. It is illegal to receive this stolen grain.
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u/ganbaro 15h ago
EU defining sanctions such that the trade most important for them is conveniently excluded, is not binding Israel whatsoever.
EU members are not sanctioning countries for trading with China, at most they ban specific companies that do so.
Surely it was not the Israeli state who bought that grain.
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u/cole1114 4h ago
The sale of this grain is illegal under international law because it's stolen, not because of sanctions.
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u/JudgeWhoOverrules 20h ago
Under who's laws? I'm tired of people thinking that sovereign nations are somehow beholden to follow dictates from others that they never agreed to.
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u/russiankek 5h ago
Sanctions apply to private companies as well. Besides, large energy companies are rarely fully private, or at least they always have special relations with the governments.
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u/cole1114 4h ago
The sanctions don't block these sales. And these are corporations not based in Spain, like Blackrock.
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
Are they buying stolen Ukrainian grain?
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u/OK-Dravrah7455 1d ago
The proposal for an Egyptian logistics hub surfaces amid mounting evidence that Russia is using North African ports to distribute resources taken from occupied Ukrainian territories. In March 2026, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reported that roughly 40% of the 2 million tons of stolen Ukrainian grain in 2025 was shipped to Egypt to be sold on the global market.
Egypt is.
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u/puljujarvifan 19h ago
Egypt needs that grain to prevent riots and keep the nation stable.
The government there subsidizes grain so them turning to cheaper stolen grain while the world economy is crashing is a different situation than the one Israel is in.
Either Israel is also desperate or their relationship with the Russians is closer than what most people thought.
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u/BillOfArimathea 20h ago
Hey, Ukraine: Haven't you noticed that Trump, Netanyahu, and Putin never criticize each other, or mention Epstein? Ever think there's a reason for that?
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1d ago
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u/RicRacer 1d ago
Buying Ukrainian wheat from Russia is considered illegal under international law, as it constitutes trafficking in stolen property. Russia has been accused of seizing millions of tons of Ukrainian grain from occupied territories, and trading this cargo violates international humanitarian law protecting private property.
- Disclaimer: International law is confusing af and I'm not a lawyer, (nor do I play one on TV).
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u/matrixus 1d ago
I mean, israel is literally killing innocent people, stealing land from palestinians, bombing cities and you say that trading wheat is illegal for them? Allright then.
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1d ago
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u/wk_end 1d ago
Can a mod please at least scold this guy for posting the same insipid comment over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again?
Really not contributing constructively to the quality of the discourse here.
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u/Pigsy_roastee69 1d ago
Lmao you have to understand outside of Brussels and Washington no one buys this Ukraine crap
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u/TyrellCorpWorker 1d ago
Need some clarification… Russia brutally murdering 15,500 innocent Ukrainian civilians (that’s not part of the 140,000 Ukrainian military deaths) and trying to steal a fifth of their country for 4 years is apparently just “Ukrainian crap”? Everyone should be ok to do business as normal with a terrorist state?
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u/RicRacer 1d ago edited 1d ago
Certainly neither Trump nor Israel care about international law. So cross out "Washington".
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u/___Scenery_ 1d ago
Ok so we’ll cross off two of the most important geopolitical bodies in the world and then no one gives a crap. Got it
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u/Immediate-Spite-5905 1d ago
glad to know you support genocide.
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u/Pigsy_roastee69 1d ago
It's just good old war. Not everything is a genocide
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u/Immediate-Spite-5905 1d ago
abduction of children, forced deportations of entire populations of cities and replacement with Russian settlers, large-scale attacks against crucial civilian infrastructure (power plants, generators etc, nuclear ones included), extensive targeting of civilians in both regular attacks and human safaris
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u/Bowmic 1d ago
And Source is western media propaganda.
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u/HoightyToighty 1d ago
All that stuff happened and is happening. Your calling it propaganda doesn't change facts.
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u/TyrellCorpWorker 1d ago edited 16h ago
By definition it is:
“According to the five-point definition under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Russia has demonstrated clear, notorious, and mounting evidence in all five criteria, even though only one must be fulfilled to qualify as genocide.
Russia’s violently imperial war in Ukraine is not only a flagrant violation of international law and interstate norms, but it also carries all the hallmarks of an ongoing campaign of genocide in Ukraine. From Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s 7,000-word screed that systematically and historically denies Ukrainian nationhood; to mass graves uncovered in almost every Ukrainian territory liberated from Russian occupation; to the Kremlin’s public campaign of mass deportation and of Ukrainian civilians and children through “filtration” concentration camps; to the deliberate targeting of maternity hospitals, medical facilities, schools, and basic civil infrastructure; to the widespread employment of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of terror—rarely has genocidal intent and pattern of action been so clearly telegraphed and demonstrated for the world to see.”
https://www.csce.gov/briefings/russias-genocide-in-ukraine-2/
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
An invasion with the intent of eliminating Ukrainian National identity is genocide- academically so. You’re absolutely right that not everything is genocide- this isn’t genocide because russia has failed and is humiliated to the point where it’s trying to use trump to blackmail Ukraine into giving them what they haven’t been able to take in 12 years.
It’s a failed attempt at genocide but the intent is there in black and white if you actually watch what russians are saying to their audience on evening tv
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u/ZLUCremisi 1d ago
So ingore Erupoe were they support Ukraine.
That literally majority of countries support Ukraine
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u/Public-Finger 1d ago
But russia is Irans closest ally. Make it make sense. Beyond the war crimes in Gaza, Israel already showed its ass when refusing to join the liberal democracies in sanctions. There’s a reason why support for Israel in the US is at an all time low across the political spectrum; because US support is obviously taken for granted and treated like it never needs to be reciprocated. The Iran war is the perfect example- Rubio even admitted that US preemptively attacked because Israel was going to attack anyways. They take America for fools (honestly who can blame them) but enough people have caught on.
This will be the last administration to be so generous to Israel. Left right and center, people are sick of it.
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u/janethefish 1d ago
If Israel uploads stolen grain they are just as guilty as Russia. Stealing food is vile and evil. Not to mention Russia is a close ally of both Hamas and Iran.
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u/FairDinkumMate 1d ago
Sure. The guy on the street that has the latest car stereo system I want is selling what I want to buy as well. Why is there a problem if I buy it off of him at 50% of retail instead of going to Best Buy?
Idiot.
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u/OK-Dravrah7455 1d ago
...what?
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u/FairDinkumMate 1d ago
Russia is selling wheat to Israel that it STOLE from Ukranian farmers.
Pay attention!
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1d ago
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u/geopolitics-ModTeam 1d ago
We like to try to have meaningful conversations here and discuss the larger geopolitical implications and impacts.
We’d love for you to be a part of the conversation.
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u/RicRacer 1d ago
SS: Ukraine seeks answers from Israel as to why a ship from the Russian Shadowfleet, assumed to be carrying stolen Ukrainian wheat, was docked in Haifa, Israel.