Ukrainian who tried to sink his Russian boss's yacht in Spain heads for front lines

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – A Ukrainian mechanic who tried to sink his Russian boss' yacht in Spain this weekend said on Monday that he is heading to the Ukrainian front line to fight Russian soldiers.

Taras Ostapchuk told local daily Ultima Hora that he decided to destroy the Lady Anastasia yacht on Saturday after he saw images of a Russian missile hitting an apartment block in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv that he thought may have been his.

He claimed that Alexander Mikheev, the head of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, is the owner of the €7 million ($7.8 million) luxury vessel.

“My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that are killing Ukrainian people," he told the newspaper, adding: "I have no regrets about what I’ve done, and I’d do it again.”

He claimed that this is not the oligarch’s only luxury yacht and that he also owns two villas on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

The 55-year-old said he marched down to the Mallorcan port on Saturday, told other crew members to get off the ship, and began opening valves to flood the yacht with water. His attempt failed and he was nabbed by the police.

Despite his confession, Spanish authorities released Ostapchuk from custody shortly afterwards.

Now he says he is flying to Poland on Monday and then will take a train or bus to Ukraine.

“I lost the first battle, which was sinking my Russian boss’s ship, but I’ll win the next,” he told Ultima Hora.

Although Ostapchuk said he has never used a weapon in his life, he believes his mechanical skills could be useful on the front lines.

“I wondered why I have a job if I don’t have a country. Sure, I had a good job as chief mechanic and a good salary, but I had to fight. So I’ve lost my job, but that’s not a problem. I’m not going to lose my country," he said.