Norway has seized a Russian ship in the Arctic to enforce a $4.2 billion compensation claim won by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz over Moscow’s seizure of its assets following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, officials said.
The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, according to Covington, the U.S. law firm representing Naftogaz. The 71-metre (233-foot) vessel can carry 32 crew and 52 passengers and has a library, sauna, bar and two restaurants, according to the Cruisemapper website. It is used for scientific expeditions and commercial cruises.
The Svalbard governor’s office issued a statement confirming that the ship had been seized and would be held in Svalbard, adding: “The governor will take care of the crew and passengers on board the vessel.”
Russia’s ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, said in a statement that Moscow would pursue the ship’s release through legal channels. “We insist on the immediate release of the vessel and on ensuring the safety of its passengers and crew,” he said. It was not immediately clear how many passengers and crew were on board.
Naftogaz has been pursuing legal action against Russia since 2016 to seek compensation for the expropriation of its property in Crimea. A tribunal in The Hague in April 2023 ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz $4.2 billion plus interest and legal costs. “Russia cannot evade responsibility simply by refusing to comply with an international arbitral award,” Naftogaz Acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko said - Moscow Times
Three things the wire copy skips. The ship was taken at Barentsburg, the Russian coal settlement that sits on Norwegian soil under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty. It grants Moscow commercial rights on an archipelago Norway owns. The Professor Molchanov is not just a tourist vessel; it carries supplies to the two Russian settlements and their 392 residents, and Oslo’s foreign ministry now says it will assist the Russians stranded there, noting that Russian firms are routinely granted sanctions relief to bring in food. And this is not a one-off: Naftogaz has proceedings running in roughly ten jurisdictions, with more than €40 million frozen in Finland — €3.7 million of it already handed over — and mortgages registered on €120 million of Russian state property in France. Moscow calls it piracy. What it actually looks like is a state enforcing a court order against another state and then feeding that state's citizens the same week. The Svalbard Treaty obliges Norway to do both, and it is doing both.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were planning to visit Moscow and Kyiv on Sept. 5–6, but Witkoff “started to get scared,” prompting discussions about alternative plans, a person familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent. “The Russians don’t want them to come here to Kyiv, and Witkoff is always sensitive to Russian sentiment,” the person said. “They’re being told there that it’s dangerous.” The envoys had planned to travel to the Ukrainian capital by plane, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Those plans are now in doubt, with the logistical hurdles potentially affecting the timing of the trip. One person familiar with the matter previously told the Kyiv Independent that Witkoff was uncomfortable traveling to Kyiv by train, as the airspace over the capital remains closed. The revelation comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 3 that Witkoff and Kushner had confirmed they could visit Ukraine. Kyiv has suffered a relentless barrage of Russian jet-powered drone strikes, facing eight straight days of attacks as of Sept. 3. A person close to the Trump administration confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that the visit was planned but said it “might still be canceled.” The U.S. had previously asked Ukraine not to strike Moscow during CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia on Aug. 25. One person familiar with the matter said the White House has also asked Russia not to attack Kyiv while U.S. envoys are visiting, but so far, “Russia did not commit” to doing so. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the White House had likewise asked Ukraine to halt strikes on Moscow during the envoys’ visit. He did not say whether Moscow had agreed to refrain from attacks on Kyiv while the U.S. officials are there. The trip would mark the first visit to Ukraine by the two U.S. envoys, who have made multiple trips to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We are ready to meet with them in Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “This is very important. It is important that the United States remains active.” Washington has not commented on Witkoff and Kushner’s plans to visit Ukraine. Witkoff and Kushner were expected to make their first visits to Ukraine earlier in August, but the trip was postponed, allegedly because U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to keep the diplomats close due to the unresolved standoff with Iran - Kyiv Independent
No details about the substance of the meetings have been released, but they meant to press for a diplomatic solution, a US official told CNN Friday.
World Briefing reported in late May that Moscow had already grown tired of the envoys' periodic visits and wanted a formal negotiating process instead. It now appears content to keep them on a short leash.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will ask Europeans to repay the American aid provided to Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden. Trump has long demanded that Europeans shoulder more of the cost of Western support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, which began more than four years ago. “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for - If they were only asked, but we will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The American president did not specify which countries he believed should pay - Euronews
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said Friday that it was “conducting an operation targeting a criminal organization led by an official from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office.” The criminal organization is “involved in protecting a network of scam call centers and laundering illicit assets,” the NABU said. The NABU detained Serhiy Kropyva, a deputy head of the international cooperation department at the Prosecutor General’s Office, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian-Canadian Bohdan Chomiak, who writes a newsletter out of the suburbs of Kyiv, sent this to his subscribers this week. We’ve quoted him here before. He’s given permission to reprint it.
One group that suffers more than can be imagined from this invasion are pets. My dog not only stops sleeping when the air raid alert sounds, he runs to the bathroom and hides behind the toilet. He needs to be held for ten minutes before he stops shivering.
My neighbors at the dacha, their dog was so scared that he dug a hole under the fence and ran away.
The street dogs in my neighborhood howl for minutes after every explosion.
My friend’s cat leaps onto the refrigerator and skinnies down to the base, coming back out in a few hours.
Given that most attacks are unsuccessful means that the UAVs, missiles and rockets explode mid air causing extreme stress for pets. Successful strikes do the same.
Their world is broken and the only fix is victory.
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Africa’s richest man said his refinery’s much-anticipated IPO would launch soon, a move that could mark a step-change for the continent’s financial and energy markets. Aliko Dangote said the firm would seek to raise $5 billion, potentially making it Africa’s biggest-ever public offering. The cash will help the Nigerian refinery more than double its production — already the largest on the continent — to around 1.4% of global capacity. The move is also expected to attract more funds into the country’s energy sector: The International Energy Agency head said the country could double its investment in five years as nations seek trustworthy partners after the fallout of the Iran war. Another Dangote-backed mega-refinery is in the works in Kenya - Semafor
A chocolate replica of New Delhi’s India Gate intended as Belgium’s gift to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was damaged on its way to India, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Thursday. De Wever joked about the mishap at a press conference alongside Modi. He had planned to present him with a sculpture “made out of the best Belgian chocolate.” “But unlike the real India Gate, which has stood almost for a century, the chocolate version didn’t even survive the journey to India,” De Wever said. “Chocolate is excellent for diplomacy, but not excellent for diplomatic travel.” The gift carried a more serious message. India Gate is a war memorial in New Delhi, and De Wever said the replica was meant to honor the more than 9,000 Indian soldiers who fought and died in Belgium’s Flanders Fields during World War I. A backup version is still waiting in Belgium, De Wever said. He promised the replacement would fare better: “One way or another, I will get it to Prime Minister Modi in one piece.” - Politico
Melania Trump has opted out of showing support for Donald Trump at the president’s midterm convention, according to a report. A White House official told the Washington Examiner that the first lady has no intention of attending the event in Dallas next week, which Trump will headline in an attempt to give the GOP a much-needed boost ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Melania’s absence is the latest humiliation for Trump surrounding his midterm convention, with dozens of Republican lawmakers already confirming that they will not be attending and citing an array of excuses. Melania not joining her husband for the two-day televised event is also another example of the first lady largely being absent from public life and not even attempting to carry out duties associated with her White House position. Melania is often missing for weeks at a time during Trump’s second term, with a Daily Beast analysis from early August revealing that she had been seen publicly on only 38 days of the year so far. As of Sept. 4, she has made only 40 public appearances - The Daily Beast
The journals…
