London: Squatters break into mansion of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska

Squatters in London broke into a mansion reportedly owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska on Monday, reported The Washington Post.

As per the media outlet, after breaking into the mansion, squatters unfurled a Ukrainian flag and declared the property "liberated" and prepared for refugees from the war-torn country.

Notably, Oleg Deripaska is an oil tycoon and metals billionaire who is worth USD 2.6 billion, according to the British government.

In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the British government had last week added Deripaska to the country's sanctions list, alongside his former business partner Roman Abramovich and five others who the government claimed had close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The mansion is a white stucco building located in Belgrave Square, dubbed "billionaire row" by British tabloids, according to the media outlet.

As the squatters made their presence known with the Ukrainian flag and banners hung outside the mansion that read "Power breeds parasites" and "This property has been liberated", the street was filled with police vans on Monday. As per images on social media, police with riot shields entered the property.

The squatters said that they broke in around 1 am on Monday, The Washington Post reported.

Notably, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republic requested help in 'defending themselves.' The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.

However, denying these claims by the Russians, the Western nations have imposed comprehensive sanctions on Moscow. In addition, they introduced sanctions on Belarus for supporting Russia's operation in Ukraine.

( With inputs from ANI )

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