A Ukrainian sailor?in?Spain was arrested and later released for partially sinking a yacht owned by a Russian tycoon, in protest over the Kremlin¡¯s invasion of Ukraine.??
Taras Ostapchuk, 55, was taken into custody on Saturday in Mallorca after he allegedly opened several valves to intentionally flood the yacht?named the Lady Anastasia,?the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
The vessel is owned by Alexander Mikheev, who?is the CEO of Rosoboronexport, the weapons export arm of Russia's state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec.?According to the brief biography on the company's website, Mikheev was formerly head of defense contractor JSC Russian Helicopters.??
When the Civil Guard turned up to arrest him, the man is reported to have been waiting by the boat, telling authorities: ¡°I don't regret anything I've done and I would do it again', adding:?'My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people."
His actions led to him being arrested, but he was later released on bail.?
¡°All?Ukrainian?citizens must be defenders of our fatherland because it is being subject to Russian aggression,¡± he told the?Associated Press?after being released from detention and just before boarding a flight to the Polish capital, Warsaw.??
¡°We must stop this war,¡± Ostapchuk said.
He said he was going to fight for his country.?
"I'm going to fight. As soon as I reach the first Ukrainian city I will look for a military commander and ask him if they need me.?I told myself: 'Why do I need a job if I have my country. I had a good job as a head mechanic on the boat and a good salary but I am going to fight for my nation." he was quoted?as saying by Spanish media.?
"I am not going to lose my country. I am not a hero, I'm a middle-aged man, but I have a lot of experience as a mechanic. I've never held a weapon but if necessary I will. Why not," he added.?
Meanwhile, more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, Associated Press reported.?
This follows Moscow¡¯s shelling?of Ukraine¡¯s second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighbourhood, as Russian troops closed in on the capital, Kyiv, as?talks aimed at stopping the fighting?yielded only an agreement to keep talking.
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