Ukrainian who tried to sink his Russian boss’s yacht in Mallorca free

The magistrate Enrique Morell said that all efforts to try to locate Taras Ostapchuk have been unsuccessful.

“It seems that he left for Ukraine to fight against the Russian occupation,” he said.
The incident took place on February 26. Taras Ostapchuk, 54, chief engineer of the Russian-owned super yacht Lady Anastasia, was arrested after attempting to sink the vessel.

In court, assisted by lawyer Neus Canyelles, he pleaded his right not to testify and was released. The man explained to the Guardia Civil that he did it to take revenge on his employer: Alexander Mijeev, head of a company that produces weapons for Vladimir Putin’s government. The judge subsequently charged the Ukrainian with causing minor criminal damage.

Taras Ostapchuk, prior to trying to sink the yacht, saw an image of a Russian missile hitting an apartment building in Kiev and decided to take action. He opened a valve in the engine room connected to the ship’s hull. Water started pouring into the yacht, which is 48 metres long and valued at 7 million euros, and he went to the crew’s cabins to open another valve.

The engineer alerted his fellow crew members and they managed to get off the boat in time, which did not sink. Three crew members started shouting at him to shut everything down, but Taras reminded them that they too were Ukrainians and that their country had suffered a missile attack by the ship’s owner. Ostapchuk had been working on the yacht for a decade, away from his wife and 27-year-old son, who live in Kyiv.

Taras, who was released after being held for 36 hours, immediately returned to Ukraine where he enlisted in the army and has since been based in Kyiv, told the Bulletin last week that he did not care about events in Palma and that his only concern is “defending Kyiv, fighting for Ukraine and defeating the Russians”.

“I am fine, my main priority is defending Kyiv, protecting Ukraine and defeating the Russians. Life in Kyiv is gradually getting back to normal. I no longer care what happens in Mallorca, my work there is finished.”