Ukraine: Two Russian Billionaires Speak Out Against War As Sanctions Impact Business

Two Russian billionaires have become the country's first high-profile businessmen to speak out against their country's invasion of Ukraine, as heavy sanctions threaten to cripple the Russian economy.

In publicly-shared messages, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska both called for peace with Ukraine, raising hopes in the west that Russia's oligarchs may attempt to exert pressure on Putin as the country begins to feel the economic consequences of his decision to invade.

Fridman — a Ukrainian-born Russian who controls Russia's largest private equity firm, LetterOne, and founded its largest private bank, Alfa Bank — wrote in an email to his staff that 'war can never be the answer', and spoke of his ties to both countries.

Mikhail Fridman (Alamy)

'I have also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and growing businesses. I am deeply attached to Ukrainian and Russian peoples and see the current conflict as a tragedy for them both [sic],' he said.

Fridman, who according to Forbes is the 128th richest person in the world, said that while he usually avoids making political statements, he had a 'responsibility' to protect the interests of his employees in Russia and Ukraine.

'This crisis will cost lives and damage two nations who have been brothers for hundreds of years,' he said. 'While a solution seems frighteningly far off, I can only join those whose fervent desire is for the bloodshed to end.'

Meanwhile, Oleg Deripaska, who made his wealth through Rusal — the world's second-largest aluminium company — took to social media platform Telegram to call for peace talks to begin 'as fast as possible', The Guardian reports.

Deripaska is one of several Russian oligarchs included in sanctions lists drawn up by western powers, having first been subject to sanctions by the US in 2018.

The 54-year-old has an estimated net worth of $4.1 billion, and in 2017 bought himself Cypriot citizenship through their controversial golden visa scheme.

Oleg Deripaska (Alamy)

Their comments come as the EU, the US and the UK enact unprecedented new restrictions targeting the Russian economy, with several major banks banned from the SWIFT payment system, a move designed to block Russian companies and oligarchs from conducting international business.

In addition, on Sunday, February 27, it was announced that the EU would be banning all Russian flights from its airspace, including the private jets of oligarchs.

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