Two Russian billionaires become the first powerful oligarchs to speak out and call for an end to the conflict caused by the president Vladimir Putinthe invasion of Ukraine.
Mikhail Friedman, a native of western Ukraine, and Oleg Deripaska condemned Putin’s invasion, calling for peace talks “as soon as possible” between the two countries with unusual interference. Russialeading business elite.
Mr Friedman, co-founder of Russia’s largest private bank, Alpha, which controls private investment company LetterOne, has called for an end to the bloodshed.
The 57-year-old, who was ranked as the 128th richest man in the world by Forbes in 2021, also said the war was a “tragedy” for people on both sides and told LetterOne officials in a letter that the conflict leads to a wedge between the two eastern Slavic peoples of Russia and Ukraine, which have been brothers for centuries.
He wrote: “I was born in western Ukraine and lived there until I was 17 years old. My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favorite city.
“But I also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and developing business. I am deeply attached to the Ukrainian and Russian people and I see the current conflict as a tragedy for both.
Meanwhile, billionaire Mr Deripaska – who is the founder of Russian aluminum giant Rusal, in which he still owns a stake in the parent company En + Group – used a Telegram post to call for peace talks to begin “as soon as possible” .
The 54-year-old simply said, “Peace is very important.”
The so-called Russian oligarchs, who once had significant influence over President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, are facing economic chaos after the West imposed heavy sanctions on Russia over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Billionaire Mikhail Friedman (pictured), who was born in western Ukraine, said the war was a “tragedy” for the people of both countries and told LetterOne officials in a letter that the conflict was driving a wedge between the two East Slavic peoples of Russia and Ukraine. who have been brothers for centuries
Oleg Deripaska (pictured) also condemned Putin’s invasion, calling for peace talks “as soon as possible” between the two countries in an unusual intervention by Russia’s leading business elite
The so-called Russian oligarchs, who once had significant influence over President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, are facing economic chaos after the West imposed heavy sanctions on Russia over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin
This comes after the Foreign Ministry announced that it was preparing a “hit list” of Russian oligarchs who would be subject to sanctions in the coming months, and feared that the conflict in Ukraine could continue for a decade.
Foreign Minister Liz Truss said there would be “nowhere to hide” for Vladimir Putin’s super-rich Kremlin allies.
Last week, Boris Johnson identified eight wealthy Russians who will be affected by travel bans and asset freezes, along with more than 100 individuals, legal entities and subsidiaries.
Separately, the Interior Ministry will give more powers to the National Crime Agency to investigate the issuance of unexplained wealth orders to find out where the money comes from.
Ms Trus said new names would be added to the list every few weeks as ministers sought to increase pressure on Putin following his invasion of Ukraine.
Washington has also imposed sanctions on Deripaska and other influential Russians over their ties to Putin following alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election, which Moscow denies.
After consulting with his security council from senior officials, Putin said he had ordered a special military operation to protect people, including Russian citizens, from “genocide” – an accusation the West called baseless propaganda.
Foreign Minister Liz Truss said yesterday that there was a “list of blows” of Russian oligarchs subject to sanctions
The office of the Ukrainian president announced that the talks between Kiev and Moscow will be held on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
“This crisis will cost lives and harm two nations that have been brothers for hundreds of years,” Friedman said.
“While the decision seems frighteningly far away, I can only join those whose ardent desire is for the bloodshed to end. I am sure that my partners share my opinion.
One of Friedman’s longtime partners, Peter Aven, attended a meeting in the Kremlin with Putin and 36 other major Russian businessmen last week, the Kremlin said.
Another Moscow billionaire told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the war would be a disaster.
“This will be catastrophic in all respects: for the economy, for relations with the rest of the world, for the political situation,” said the billionaire.
The billionaires who met with Putin in the Kremlin on Thursday were silent, he said.
“Businessmen understand the consequences very well. But who wants business opinion on this?