STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court on Sunday ordered the detention of the Russian captain of a ship that was suspected to be sailing under a false flag in the Baltic Sea and was boarded by authorities last week.
The commander of the Sea Owl 1, whose name hasn't been released, was arrested on Friday — the day after the Swedish coast guard boarded the vessel off Trelleborg, on Sweden's southern coast.
Prosecutors suspect him of using a false document. They said Sunday that the district court in Ystad ordered him held in custody in line with their request, Swedish news agency TT reported.
The tanker was sailing under the flag of the Comoros, an island nation off East Africa. But the coast guard has said that it suspects it isn't in the shipping registry there and therefore there is no flag state to vouch for safety on board.
The tanker is also on the EU sanctions list and had been traveling from Brazil to Russia, according to the coast guard. It was previously used to transport oil between those two countries though it did not appear to have cargo on Thursday.
It was the second vessel sailing in Swedish territorial waters to come under coast guard investigation in a week under suspicion of using a false flag. The cargo ship “Caffa,” sailing with a majority Russian crew, is accused of transporting stolen grain while on Ukraine’s sanctions list. Its captain also has been detained on suspicion of using a false document.
Sweden last year said it would step up insurance checks on foreign ships in a move aimed at tightening controls on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet ” of aging ships, which are used to transport oil and gas or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain.
In this image made with a thermal imaging camera and provided by the Swedish Coast Guard, Swedish officials board the tanker "Sea Owl I" on Thursday, March 12, 2026, off the coast of Trelleborg, Sweden, in connection with an investigation into the vessel's seaworthiness. (Swedish Coast Guard via AP)
The boarded ships Caffa, left, and Sea Owl I anchored side by side, outside Trelleborg, Sweden, Friday, March 13, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT via AP)
The Swedish Police National Task Force (NI) and the Coast Guard on their way to the already boarded tanker Sea Owl I, outside Trelleborg, Sweden, Friday, March 13, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments released Sunday that he was ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks to end Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine, but that it was up to Washington and Moscow to agree on where and when to meet.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. had proposed hosting the next meeting between American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams, which include U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but Moscow had refused to send a delegation.
“We are waiting for a response from the Americans. Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm the U.S,” Zelenskyy said in a media briefing Saturday. “We are not blocking any of these initiatives. We want a trilateral meeting to take place.”
The U.S. has postponed its sponsored talks between the two sides due to the war in the Middle East. The Iran war, which erupted on Feb. 28 following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and spread across the region, has drawn the international spotlight away from Ukraine’s plight as it strives to hold back Russia’s bigger army.
Speaking to journalists, Zelenskyy also warned of a “very high” risk that the Iran war could drain the air defense stockpiles Ukraine depends on to counter Russian missile strikes.
Zelenskyy said he lacked a clear picture of available stockpiles and had discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday whether SAMP/T systems could serve as an alternative to U.S.-made Patriot batteries for intercepting ballistic missiles. He said Ukraine would be “first in line” to test any viable alternative.
He also appeared to push back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent assertion that Washington has no need for Ukrainian drone technology.
“No, we don’t need their help on drone defense,” Trump said in a Fox News Radio interview that aired Friday.
Zelenskyy said Washington had reached out to Ukraine “several times” to request assistance for a particular country or for support for Americans, without giving specifics. He said the requests had come from various U.S. military institutions to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and other military leaders.
“All our institutions received these requests, and we responded to them,” Zelenskyy said.
He said he had offered Washington a defense cooperation deal last year worth $35 billion–$50 billion that would have given the U.S. administration access to technology from roughly 200 Ukrainian drone, AI and electronic warfare firms, with half of all production earmarked for partners, primarily the U.S.
According to the Ukrainian leader, American military officials had expressed strong interest in the proposal, and Trump himself had indicated he was receptive.
“We received a message from them, and directly from the president as well, that they are interested,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “We did not sign the document with President Trump. I do not have an answer as to why. Perhaps it will happen later, but I am not sure.”
With regard to reopening the Druzhba pipeline, which until late January transported Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, Zelenskyy said he was against allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine while the EU imposes sanctions on its sale elsewhere.
“Why can we, in one case, tell the United States that we oppose lifting sanctions, while on the other hand forcing Ukraine to resume oil transit through Druzhba — and at a political price that effectively pays for anti-European policies?” Zelenskyy said. The U.S. has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
Zelenskyy said if conditions imposed on Ukraine because of the dispute threatened weapons supplies, Kyiv would have no choice but to resume oil transit, but said he told EU partners this would amount to “blackmail.”
Oil deliveries through the Druzhba have been halted since Jan. 27, leading to an escalating feud between Hungary and Ukraine. The Ukrainian government says that a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline’s infrastructure, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies.
In response, Orbán vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia, and is blocking a major 90-billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan for Ukraine until flows are resumed.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Firefighters put out the fire at a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
A rescuer helps an elderly woman to leave her home damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
A private house burns following Russian aerial guided bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Paramedics give first aid to an injured resident following Russian aerial guided bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Firefighters put out the fire in a residential neighborhood following a Russian missile and drone attack, in Brovary, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
