Sweden allows transfer of seized Russian ship to Ukraine

DPAThu, August 6, 2026 at 2:03 PM UTC1 min readAdd Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.Key takeawaysPowered by Yahoo Scout. Yahoo is using AI to generate key points from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

• A Swedish court ruled that a suspected Russian shadow fleet freighter detained off the coast of Trelleborg can be handed over to Ukraine.
• The ship, named Caffa, is on Kiev's sanctions list and was reportedly transporting grain stolen from Ukraine.
• The Swedish Supreme Court has declined to review the case, upholding the ruling that the ship can be transferred to Ukraine, setting an important precedent according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

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A suspected Russian shadow fleet freighter detained in Sweden can be handed over to Ukraine, a Swedish court ruled on Thursday.

Swedish authorities boarded the Caffa off the coast of Trelleborg in March. According to the coast guard, the ship is on Kiev's sanctions list, with reports indicating that it was transporting grain stolen from Ukraine.

The Ystad District Court ruled in June that the ship could be transferred to Ukraine.

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The shipping company appealed the ruling but was unsuccessful in the appellate court. It then sought to take the case to the Swedish Supreme Court.

However, according to the TT news agency, the Supreme Court does not intend to hear the case, having found no grounds to grant a review after examining the available documentation.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the "landmark" ruling as setting an important precedent.

It demonstrated that "decisive action by law enforcement and prosecutors, combined with an independent and impartial judiciary, can translate the principle of accountability into tangible results," Sybiha wrote on X on Wednesday.

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Ukraine would continue working to counter Russia's shadow fleet and Moscow's "ability to earn money for its war," he added.

The freighter has been anchored off Trelleborg since it was boarded and impounded in the spring. The crew has since left Sweden, including the captain, who was temporarily held in pretrial detention on suspicion of document forgery.

The Russian shadow fleet comprises hundreds of ageing oil tankers and cargo vessels used by Moscow to export oil and liquefied natural gas while evading Western sanctions and price caps.