Pakistan, Sept. 3 -- Norway has seized a Russian state-owned ship in the Arctic after Ukraine's Naftogaz sought assets to recover billions from Moscow. The vessel, Professor Molchanov, arrived at Barentsburg on September 2. Barentsburg is a Russian mining settlement on Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Norwegian authorities are now holding the ship there. The vessel cannot leave the settlement while the legal order remains active.

Naftogaz has pursued compensation from Russia since 2016. The company filed legal action over property taken after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. In 2023, a tribunal in The Hague ordered Russia to pay about $4.22 billion. The award also includes interest and legal costs. However, Moscow has not paid the compensati...