Norway returns 69 Russians stranded in Arctic after ship arrest
Norwegian authorities helped repatriate the stranded passengers and crew after a court impounded the vessel for Naftogaz’s $4.22 billion claim.
- On Tuesday, Norway assisted 69 Russian citizens in returning home from Svalbard following the seizure of their cruise ship, with passengers traveling via the Norwegian town of Kirkenes on Tuesday afternoon.
- A Norwegian court ordered the seizure of the Professor Molchanov last week on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking $4.2 billion in compensation from Russia for assets seized during Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
- Following dialogue with the Russian Federation's consul general in Barentsburg and Trust Arktikugol representatives, the governor of Svalbard coordinated the passengers' departure from the settlement where around 350 Russian and Russian-speaking Ukrainians operate a coal mine.
- Moscow called the seizure a "politically motivated violation of international law" and announced an appeal to the August 31 court decision, as Norwegian authorities defended their obligation to execute the court order.
- The case has escalated tensions between Russia and NATO-member Norway, with a 2023 Hague-based arbitration tribunal having ruled in Naftogaz's favor, though Norwegian courts delayed final decisions on vessel sale to permit Russia to challenge the seizure.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Russians Aboard Ship Seized by Norway Have Returned Home, Foreign Ministry Says
A group of Russians who were on board a ship seized by Norway last week have returned home, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, as it accused authorities in Oslo of trying to push Russia out of the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Russian citizens went home through the town of Kirkenes in the far north, and the ship is currently in Barenzburg.
Evacuated Russian citizens from Professor Molchanov vessel arrive in Murmansk
69 Russians return home as ‘Professor Molchanov’ remains impounded in Norway over a claim by Ukraine’s Naftogaz
Sixty-nine Russian citizens who were aboard the Professor Molchanov, which was impounded in Norway several days ago, have returned home, the governor of Svalbard said.
TASS reported the return to Russia of all passengers and some crew members from the ️Norway illegally arrested vessel
The passengers were accommodated in hotels in the Murmansk region.All that remains is to either return the remaining crew and the vessel or sink several Norwegian ships anywhere in the world. These insolent cod-eaters only understand...
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