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Norway seized a Russian ship in the Arctic after a court ruled that it should be used to compensate Ukraine.
The ship was departing a Russian port in the Svalbard archipelago when authorities seized it on Wednesday. While Svalbard is part of Norway, it functions as a Russian coal mining operation. Norwegian courts ruled the ship could be seized and the funds used to compensate Ukraine.
Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague awarded the Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogazan a settlement of over $ 4 billion from Russia in response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Russia seized Crimea in response to a US-backed coup in Ukraine that ousted the Ukrainian president. The post-coup leadership discussed revoking Russia’s access to its military base in Sevastopol, Crimea.
On Thursday, Russia called for the immediate release of its vessel, and it was preparing lawsuits in response to the seizure.
“I can confirm that legal action has been initiated. Lawyers from the [Arktikugol] enterprise and Russian lawyers, in coordination with the Russian embassy in Norway, are preparing to contest this unlawful arrest in a local court,” Russian Far East and Arctic Development Minister Alexey Chekunkov said. “I emphasize that this is based on a claim filed by the private Ukrainian company Naftogaz.”
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