January 1, Man Arrested for Trying to Sink Russian Oligarch’s $7.7M Yacht

A Ukrainian man was arrested in Spain after partially sinking his boss’s $7.7 million yacht.

Taras Ostapchuk, 55, was arrested in Mallorca after allegedly opening several valves to intentionally flood the 156-foot-long vessel, Lady Anastasia.

Alexander Mijeev, the CEO of a Russian military weapons company, is the yacht’s owner.

When officers arrived to arrest Ostapchuk, he allegedly said: “My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people.”

Ostapchuk said he was spurred to sabotage the luxury yacht after seeing news reports of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I watched the news about the war. There was a video of a helicopter attack on a building in Kyiv. The armaments used are produced by the yacht owner’s company. They were attacking innocents,” he said during a court appearance.

Ostapchuck, who had been a mechanic on the yacht for a decade, told the judge he didn’t regret his actions and “would do it again.”

He was later released from custody and has since left Spain, intending to return to his native Ukraine and join the fight.

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Source:

Ukrainian sailor arrested for trying to sink oligarch’s superyacht