Ukrainian admits to trying to sink Russian boss's yacht

A Ukrainian crew member who tried to sink his Russian boss's yacht last month said it was his "first step for the war with Russia."

Taras Ostapchuk, 55, who worked as a chief engineer for the Lady Anastasia for 10 years, decided last month to open valves on the ship in an attempt to sink it after watching a Russian missile hit an apartment building in his home city of Kyiv.

"You have to choose: Either you are with Ukraine or not. You have to choose: Will there be a Ukraine, or will you have a job? ... I don't need a job if I don't have Ukraine," Ostapchuk said in an interview published by CNN on Thursday.

Ostapchuk said he saw a connection between the destruction in Ukraine and the man he believes owns the yacht, Alexander Mikheev, chief executive at Russian weapons company Rosoboronexport.

UKRAINIAN SAILOR ADMITS TO TRYING TO DESTROY RUSSIAN BOSS'S YACHT

On Feb. 26, while the 156-foot yacht was docked on the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea, Ostapchuk opened valves in the ship's engine room to allow water to flood in. He told three of the other Ukrainian crew members, who later called port authorities and the police, fearing for their jobs.

"I made a statement to the police that I tried to sink the boat as a political protest of Russian aggression," Ostapchuk said.

Ostapchuk was arrested by authorities but released a day later. He now serves in the Ukrainian army, telling the outlet that he hopes his service brings "our victory closer."

There is no doubt Mikheev and his family were the only ones who used the vessel for vacations, and the oligarch should be held accountable for Russia's actions in Ukraine, according to Ostapchuk.

"It is they who, with their behavior, with their lifestyle, with their unquenchable greed, they precisely led to this ... in order to distract the people from the real plunder of Russia by these rulers, that arrange diversionary wars with other countries, that are innocent," Ostapchuk added.

Mikheev's ties to the vessel have yet to be confirmed as a spokesman for Rosoboronexport declined the outlet's request for comment.

Sanctions on dozens of Russian oligarchs have pushed some to relocate their yachts to friendlier waters. Roman Abramovich's superyacht Solaris has been tracked off the coast of Turkey in recent days after fleeing Montenegrin waters heeding a warning that the nation might soon institute sanctions similar to those of the European Union.

On March 15, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Mikheev, and the same day, Spanish authorities "provisionally" detained Lady Anastasia while determining whether it falls under European sanctions.

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The last time the yacht was tracked, it was posted at a port in Mallorca, according to MarineTraffic.

Rosoboronexport did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.