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UKRAINE

Italy seizes Russian oligarch’s €65 million superyacht

Italy on Friday seized the yacht of a Russian oligarch seen as close to President Vladimir Putin and is subject to EU sanctions, the government said.

Italy seizes Russian oligarch's €65 million superyacht
A picture taken on March 3, 2022 in a shipyard of La Ciotat, near Marseille, southern France, shows a yacht, Amore Vero, owned by a company linked to Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian energy giant Rosneft. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP)

“Italy’s police has just seized ‘Lady M Yacht’, a 65 million euros ($70 million) vessel belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov located in Imperia (Liguria) – in compliance with the recent EU sanctions,” Ferdinando Giugliano, a media adviser to Italy’s prime minister, said in a tweet.

Steel magnate Mordashov owns Severstal group and is among the ultra-wealthy, influential Russians blacklisted by Brussels for their perceived closeness to the Kremlin.

READ ALSO: Russian invasion of Ukraine: What has Italy’s response been so far?

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the EU has moved to freeze the assets of connected oligarchs and bar them from entering the bloc.

Mordashov used a statement issued Monday to distance himself from Putin’s war in Ukraine.

“I have absolutely nothing to do with the current geopolitical tensions and I don’t understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me,” he said.

Italian media have reported that another yacht, the Lena owned by Gennady Timchenko, the billionaire co-founder of commodities trader Gunvor, has been seized in Sanremo.

The first yacht seized as a result of EU sanctions was the Amore Vero, snatched Thursday in the French port of La Ciotat.

The mega-yacht belongs to a company linked to the head of Russian oil giant Rosneft.

Yachts, symbols of the massive wealth accrued by Russia’s elite, are among their overseas assets being targeted by Western sanctions.

The EU sanctions target more than 500 Russian individuals or entities whose assets are to be traced and frozen.

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UKRAINE

Italy warns against ‘rash’ moves over arms to Ukraine

Italy's foreign minister on Saturday reiterated his opposition to Ukraine using Italian weapons inside Russia, warning of a "delicate" situation where "rash" moves must be avoided.

Italy warns against 'rash' moves over arms to Ukraine

Support is growing among NATO allies for allowing Ukraine to use Western-donated weapons to strike inside Russian territory – but Rome, a founding member of the alliance, remains opposed.

“It is a very delicate moment, we must not make false steps” and must avoid “rash steps and declarations”, Antonio Tajani told a meeting in Rapallo, northwest Italy, according to the AGI and ANSA news agencies.

He added that “even the US has not authorised the indiscriminate use of its weapons against Russia, but only to strike a base from where the drones depart. They too are very cautious”, AGI reported.

Tajani added that Italy would send another package of aid to Ukraine within “weeks”.

But he repeated that “we will not send even one Italian soldier to fight in Ukraine because we are not at war with Russia”, AGI reported.

Germany said on Friday it had given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia.

READ ALSO: Berlin allows Ukraine to fire German weapons at targets in Russia

The day before, US officials said Washington had partially lifted similar restrictions to allow Ukraine to defend its eastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia.

The change in Washington’s thinking was attributed by US officials to Russia’s daily pounding of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city.

Russia fired a combined 100 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, in a barrage that targeted energy sites across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

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