Attack my country, I attack your yacht.
That was the crude calculation made by a Ukrainian mechanic – living in Mallorca, Spain – when he suspected that the owner of the luxury boat he maintained was supplying weapons to the Russian military.
According to Vice, fifty-five year old Taras Ostapchuk was the chief engineer of $8 million super yacht Lady Anastasia, which is owned by Alexander Mikheev. Mikheev, according to the outlet, is the CEO of Rosoboronexport, “a Russian state-owned military weapons supplier and one of the biggest players in the international arms market.”
Ostapchuk became enraged on Saturday when he watched a video on his cell phone that depicted a Russian missile striking an apartment building in Kyiv. Ostapchuk believed that his employer’s company provided the missile to the Russian military and he decided to exact revenge by sinking the yacht.
Vice reports:
The sailor opened a large valve in the engine room and then another in the crew members’ quarters. He also closed the fuel valves to prevent pollutive leaks and switched off the electricity. Then, he told crew members to abandon ship.
When the Ukrainian sailor instructed his fellow crew members to evacuate the Lady Anastasia, he was told that he was crazy, he said in a statement made in court on Sunday. In response, he reminded the crew members that they, too, were Ukrainians whose country was under attack, and that he would take full responsibility for the damaged yacht.
Despite the efforts of crew members and other port workers to stop the leakage, the damage had been done and the Lady Anastasia was partially sunk.
“I told myself: ‘What do I need a job for if I don’t have a country?’ ” Ostapchuk told Ultima Hora, a Spanish newspaper.
Ostapchuk was apprehended by Spanish police. At a court appearance he said “I don’t regret anything I’ve done, and I would do it again.”
His lawyer told reporters, “He told me, ‘I admit to what I did, but I’m not a criminal. The criminal and the one who is really guilty here is the owner of the boat.’”
Ostapchuk was released after a judge ordered an investigation. He faces charges of damaging private property.
The Washington Post adds:
After his release from detention, Ostapchuk headed back to his homeland on Monday. He planned to fly to Warsaw and take a bus or train to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
As soon as he arrives, he told reporters, he’ll try to join Ukrainian forces defending the country.
“I will not lose my country,” he told Ultima Hora. “I am not a hero; I am an older man, but with a lot of experience in mechanics. I have never held a gun, but if it’s necessary, I will. Why not?”
