Ukrainian sailor arrested for partially sinking luxury yacht of his Russian boss in Spain
The Lady Anastasia is a 156-foot, £5.8m boat with five cabins owned by Alexander Mijeev
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Ukrainian sailor in Spain’s Mallorca has been arrested for partially sinking a yacht worth €7m (£5.8m) owned by a Russian tycoon, days after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The yacht, named the Lady Anastasia, is a 156-foot-long boat with five cabins and is owned by Alexander Mijeev, a former head of the Russian Helicopter Corporation.
In 2016, he took over Rostec, a Russian state-owned weapons supplier.
The sailor, who has not been named, allegedly opened the ship’s valves causing it to partially sink, reported Spain’s Balearic Island newspaper Ultima Hora on Sunday.
He opened one valve in the engine room and a second where the crew lives and allegedly asked three other crew members, also Ukrainians, to abandon the ship.
He also turned off the fuel valves and switched off the electricity on the ship.
Later when the civil guards came to arrest him, he said: “The owner of this ship is a criminal who makes his living selling weapons and now they kill Ukrainians.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday in a full-scale military operation, the country has been bombarded with explosions and missiles as thousands have been forced to flee their homes to escape the war.
In court, the sailor, who has been working for the ship for a decade said he blamed Mr Mijeev for producing weapons used to attack Ukraine.
He said he had seen news on television about how a Russian cruise missile hit a block of flats and assumed that the missile had been made by his boss.
“The warhead did not explode, but more than five floors were still destroyed,” he said in his statement in court.
The sailor recalled living in a similar apartment in Kyiv and sought to take revenge on his boss.
He said he only meant to cause material harm to Mr Mijeev and it was not personal.
The sailor has been charged but released by the judge.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments