Norway Grabs Russian Ship to Collect Money Owed to Ukraine

Norway seized a Russian-owned cruise ship, the Professor Molchanov, near the Arctic island of Svalbard on 2 September 2026 after a 24-hour standoff with its coast guard. An international court had ordered Russia to pay Ukraine's gas company $4.22 billion for taking over its property in Crimea. Russia called it piracy and promised to fight back. The ship had been watched for months.