Ukraine Planning to Ask EU to Sanction Bangladesh

Ukraine is planning to ask the European Union to sanction Bangladeshi entities that are importing wheat taken from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. In the past, Ukraine has warned Dhaka to stop the trade of goods from its occupied territories.

Russian forces have occupied a large part of Ukraine’s southern agricultural region since 2014. Kyiv has also accused Russia of stealing its grain, even before the 2022 invasion that started the long-standing war between the two nations. However, Russian officials claim that there is no theft of grain involved, as the territories previously considered part of Ukraine are now part of Russia and will remain so forever.

The Ukrainian Embassy in New Delhi has reportedly sent several letters to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking them to reject more than one 50,000-tonne shipment of grain already stolen and shipped from the Russian port of Kavkaz. In this matter, Ukraine’s ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, clearly said that Dhaka has not responded to the communications and that Ukraine will now escalate the matter.

“It’s a crime… we will share our investigation with our European Union colleagues, and we will kindly ask them to take the appropriate measures,” said Polishchuk in an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in New Delhi.