A Russian oligarch has lambasted the country’s “massacre” in Ukraine and called for an end to the “crazy war”.
Oleg Tinkov wrote in a profanity-littered Instagram post that he did not see “any beneficiary” of the conflict.
Tinkov is one of Russia’s most well-known entrepreneurs and founded the global online bank Tinkoff Bank and owned the cycling team Tinkoff-Saxo.
He is also one of the most high profile Russians to publicly condemn President Vladimir Putin’s actions.
Two of the country’s most prominent oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have made separate calls for peace, but have stopped short of direct criticism.
Fridman, a billionaire banker, has said any personal remarks could be a risk not just to himself but also staff and colleagues.
However, the businessman Boris Mints, who worked for the Russian government in the 1990s but was discharged of his political roles four days after Putin took office, has joined Tinkov in voicing direct criticism of the president.
Mints, who lives in the UK, is the subject of current legal action by the Kremlin. He told the BBC “every right-thinking person has a duty to speak out against this appalling war and Vladimir Putin’s growing authoritarianism”.
“All of us must do what we can to support Ukrainians suffering from this vicious onslaught, whether in Ukraine or as refugees beyond its borders,” he added.
The UK government has sanctioned Tinkov along with many other Russians identified as having close links to the Kremlim. Mr Mints has not been sanctioned.
Tinkov has previously denied having any close relationship with President Putin or the Kremlin. (BBC)
