Activists say they broke into a French seaside villa owned by Putin's former son-in-law and changed the locks so Ukrainian refugees can live there
The activists flew a Ukrainian flag from the balcony of the eight-bedroom villa in Biarritz reportedly owned by the ex-husband of Putin's daughters.
Russia Today
- Activists said they seized an eight-bedroom villa in southwestern France and posted videos from inside.
- It is owned by Kirill Shamalov, the ex-husband of Putin's daughter, Russian news site The Insider reported.
- The activists, who were briefly arrested, say they want to house Ukrainian refugees in the villa.
A group of activists said they took over a French seaside villa belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law, saying they want to use it to house Ukrainian refugees.
Pierre Haffner, Vladimir Osechkin, and Sergey Saveliev posted videos and images showing an activist flying the Ukrainian flag from the balcony of the Alta Maria villa in Biarritz on Sunday.
The house, which the activists said has eight bedrooms and three bathrooms, is registered to Kirill Shamalov, the independent Russian investigative website The Insider reported. Shamalov was previously married to Katerina Tikhonova, one of Putin's daughters.
The villa was previously registered to the Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko, The Insider reported. Insider was not able to independently verify the property ownership details.
Haffner told The Insider that they had found a copy of Shamalov's passport inside the property.
Here's a video of Saveliev walking inside the villa compound.
Here's a video showing images from inside the mansion, according to Haffner.
On Monday, Biarritz police arrested Haffner and Saveliev in connection with the break-in, but later released them with a warning, Agence France-Presse and Reuters reported.
Vladimir Osechkin
In their social media posts, the activists said they changed the locks and hoped to house Ukrainian refugees in the villa. They also said they will go to IKEA to get furnishings.
"In the coming days, human rights activists and lawyers will send relevant requests to the Biarritz Mayor's Office and the prefecture, as well as the Elysee Palace with a proposal to use the villa 'Ukraine' as one of the places to accommodate refugees from Ukraine," Osechkin wrote on Facebook.
In a statement sent to Osechkin by Saveliev before he entered the villa, Saveliev said: "We dedicate this action to Ukraine and all the people who have suffered from torture, corruption and repression in Russia."
"This place should and will become a refuge and a place of help for people who have no place in their country."
World powers including the US, UK, and EU seized the assets of a number of Russians linked to Putin following the invasion of Ukraine last month. The UK government said it was looking at housing Ukrainian refugees in seized properties.
Shamalov has not been targeted by EU sanctions, but he has been sanctioned by Britain.