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Oleg Deripaska: Is it in Russia's interest to destroy Ukraine?
Of course not"
Photo:
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has been going on for 125 days.
Criticism of the invasion is forbidden in Russia, but the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska criticized the war in no uncertain terms at a press conference in Moscow.
“Is it in Russia's interest to destroy Ukraine?
Of course not, that would be a colossal mistake,' he said.
At the press conference, the founder of the aluminum company Rusal repeatedly spoke of a "colossal mistake" and also described the Russian military offensive in Ukraine as a "war" - a term banned by the Russian authorities.
Such harsh criticism is unusual: representatives of the Russian elite rarely express themselves with such clarity.
Since the military offensive against Ukraine, repression of government critics and independent media in Russia has increased.
According to a new law, critics of the offensive face up to 15 years in prison.
Deripaska also criticized the Russian response to the unprecedented sanctions imposed by Western states over the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
"120 days after the start of the conflict, the Russian authorities have still not taken the necessary decisions" to mitigate the impact of these sanctions on the Russian economy, he lamented.
The oligarch is himself affected by EU sanctions.
According to Forbes magazine, his fortune in 2022 will be $1.7 billion.
In the previous year it was therefore still 3.8 billion dollars.
The punitive measures are "naturally more painful" for Russia than for the West, Deripaska added.
He contradicted statements by President Vladimir Putin, who had repeatedly said that the sanctions could not harm Russia, while consumers in Western countries were suffering particularly from the increased energy prices.
According to Deripaska, a change of government in Russia is not to be expected.
"There is no potential for system change," he said.
The opposition had "withdrawn from the life of the country," he said.
Many Russian opposition figures are in prison or have gone into exile.
Well-known opposition figure convicted
The prominent opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to 15 days in prison in Moscow on Tuesday.
He was accused of disobedience to police officers for resisting arrest.
The 38-year-old denied the allegation.
He wrote on Telegram that he is believed to be "intimidated or driven out of the country" for his criticism of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
Yashin is one of the last known opposition figures who are still alive in Russia and have not been imprisoned.
He was arrested on Monday while walking with his journalist friend Irina Babloyan in a Moscow park, as she reported on Telegram.
Babloyan rejected claims that Yashin insulted the police officers during the arrest.
"That's not true," she wrote on Telegram.
Also on Telegram, Yashin expressed the fear that the 15-day detention could only be the prelude to further criminal prosecution.
mrc/AFP/Reuters
