MOSCOW
Russian Ambassador to Sweden Sergey Belyaev said on Tuesday that Swedish authorities have detained five cargo ships since December 2025 over suspicions they were serving Russia’s foreign trade interests.
Speaking in an interview with Russian state news agency Ria, Belyaev said the crews of the vessels included Russian citizens and that the Russian Embassy in Sweden had intervened to protect their lawful rights and interests.
“Since December 2025, Swedish authorities have detained a total of five vessels that Stockholm suspected of serving Russia’s foreign trade interests,” Belyaev said.
One of the vessels, the Russian-flagged Adler, was released shortly after being detained, Belyaev said.
The diplomat added that Swedish law enforcement authorities acknowledged that there were insufficient grounds to hold the vessel under either international law or Swedish national legislation.
Four other vessels were detained by Swedish authorities in 2026, according to the ambassador. All of them were sailing under foreign flags and were owned by companies registered in third countries, he said.
The Russian mission got involved in those cases specifically in connection with protecting the legal rights and interests of Russian nationals serving on the vessels, the ambassador said.
