Sweden will hand over to Kyiv a seized Russian "shadow fleet" cargo ship which Ukraine suspects of transporting grain stolen from its occupied territory, Swedish court documents ob…

Sweden will hand over to Kyiv a seized Russian "shadow fleet" cargo ship which Ukraine suspects of transporting grain stolen from its occupied territory, Swedish court documents obtained by AFP on Thursday showed. The Supreme Court on August 4 dismissed an appeal by Caffa Shipping Ltd, which owns the 96-metre (315-foot) Caffa, in a bid to block the transfer requested by Ukraine and approved by two lower courts in Sweden. Moscow's "shadow fleet" consists of vessels used to skirt Western sanctions. They are often ageing ships in poor condition, without proper insurance and with opaque ownership. "This landmark decision sets an important precedent, demonstrating that decisive action by law enforcement and prosecutors, combined with an independent and impartial judiciary, can translate the principle of accountability into tangible results," he wrote in a post on X. The Caffa, which was sailing under a false Guinean flag, was headed for Saint Petersburg, Russia, when armed Swedish police boarded it on March 6th off Trelleborg on its southern coast. Swedish authorities had acted on a request for legal assistance from Ukraine, where Caffa is the subject of a legal investigation, according to the Ystad district court in Sweden. The vessel was transporting grain, according to the Ukrainian sanctions commissioner, Vladyslav Vlasiuk. He said the ship had previously been involved in stealing grain from occupied Ukrainian territory, including transporting a shipment from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea in July 2025.