Upset, devastated Ukrainian man tries to sink his Russian boss' $7 mn yacht

As he watched Russian missiles strike residential buildings in Ukraine, a Ukrainian mechanical engineer attempted to sink his Russian employer's luxurious boat. The Lady Anastasia, a $7 million luxury yacht, was docked in Mallorca when the Ukrainian man, Taras Ostapchuk, attempted to board it, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Alexander Mijeev, the yacht's owner, is a former Russian Helicopter Corporation executive who took over a state-owned weapons supplier. After his detention, Ostapchuk, 55, told Spanish officials that Mijeev-made guns were being used to kill Ukrainians. Ostapchuk had been working on the boat for a decade and had unlocked a vital valve, allowing it to partially sink.

Ostapchuk said that his choice was influenced by a video depicting damage to an apartment building in Ukraine. He said that it appeared to have been caused by a missile attack of the type Mijeev created. Ostapchuk then opened a plug in the engine room and another in the crew's living quarters. He also ordered the rest of the crew to leave the ship, reminding them that they, too, were Ukrainians. They, on the other hand, refused to comply with the request and worked to save the boat from being inundated. According to Business Insider, he also stated that this was an act of retaliation for the invasion, and that he had no remorse in a court statement.

The 55-year-old engineer also told a local news outlet that while he had lost his first war to drown his employer's superyacht, he would win the next one, which was to return to Ukraine to fight Russia. Following the hearing of Ostapchuk's confession, a judge in Mallorca released him on bond.

Ukrainian citizens assisted in a variety of ways in the war-torn country. A Ukrainian brewery has converted its bottling operations into a petrol bomb factory, cranking out Molotov cocktails to be hurled against Russian tanks.

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• Alexander Mijeev
• Mallorca
• Russia
• Russia Ukraine crisis
• Taras Ostapchuk
• Ukraine