Monday, February 28, 2022

Ukrainian Sailor Arrested for Trying to Sink Oligarch’s Superyacht

THE GUARDIAN: Mechanic on Lady Anastasia, owned by Russian arms exporter, sought revenge for attacks on Kyiv

Lady Anastasia, pictured in Palamos harbour in Catalonia, is owned by Alexander Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport. Photograph: Dieter Wanke/Alamy

A Ukrainian sailor has been arrested in Mallorca and faces charges of attempting to sink a yacht owned by Alexander Mikheev, the CEO of the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport and former head of the Russian helicopter federation. The boat is moored in the harbour of Port Adriano.

The unnamed man, who has been employed for the past 10 years as a mechanic on the Lady Anastasia, Mikheev’s 48-metre, £5m yacht, said he felt he had to do something after seeing footage of a Russian rocket attack on a block of flats in Kyiv, his home town. The defendant told the judge that he believed the rocket had been manufactured by Mikheev’s company.

Once on board the vessel he told the crew members, most of whom are also Ukrainians, to abandon ship. He allegedly then went to the engine room and opened a large valve in an attempt to sink the yacht. The crew members, aided by port staff, intervened to prevent the sinking. » | Stephen Burgen in Barcelona | Monday, February 28, 2022