- A Ukrainian millionaire asked the military to bomb his home after it was occupied by Russian troops.
- Andrey Stavnitser said he saw Russian forces and artillery entering his property via a surveillance camera.
- Stavnitser said the Ukrainian military eliminated the Russians and destroyed his mansion.
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A Ukrainian millionaire said he asked his country’s military to bomb his mansion after seeing it seized and occupied by Russian troops.
Andrey Stavnitser, the CEO of Ukrainian IT firm TransInvestService, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he saw Russian forces, including a Tornado missile launcher, enter his property near Irpin via surveillance camera on March 5 penetrated Irpin is a city outside of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
“They destroyed most of the cameras in the house, but there was a small amateur webcam,” he said.
Stavnitser, who left Ukraine for Poland after Russia invaded, said his security personnel were captured, stripped, interrogated and sent to the forest.
“There were 12 military vehicles on my territory, including rocket launchers, grenades and tornadoes,” Stavnitser said. “They basically started shooting at Kyiv from my house.”
Stavnitser told GMB he was “disgusted” to see the troops inside his home and called Ukrainian forces to give them the blessing to demolish his home.
“Fortunately, they were destroyed by the Ukrainian military,” he said.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. Stavnitser posted pictures of the destroyed Russian artillery on his Facebook page earlier this month.
Speaking to GMB, Stavnitser said he doesn’t care about the house, even though it’s brand new and he’s invested a lot of time in it.
“It was kind of an obvious choice for me. There’s not much you can do to help the military and that was one of the opportunities I had,” he told GMB.
“I want to do everything to help Ukraine win.”
Russian forces have moved their forces out of Kyiv and repositioned in the Donbass region in recent weeks. Russia initially expected to take Kyiv within days, but failed in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance.
In a video address on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had begun its attack on Donbass, which was largely controlled by pro-Kremlin separatist factions, before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“We can now say that Russian troops have started the battle for Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive,” said Zelenskyy.
“No matter how many Russian soldiers are herded there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. We will do this every day. We will not reveal anything Ukrainian.”
Stavnitser told GMB that Zelenskyy, whom he knows personally, is an inspirational leader who sets the tone for all of Ukraine.
“I’m really very proud to have such a president,” he said.