Since the beginning of May 2023, the team of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, in particular Anastasia Signaevska, USCC representative in the Czech Republic, has been implementing a campaign that resulted in the inclusion of the family of the Russian missile magnate to the Czech Republic’s sanctions list. This happened on August 16.
The official website of the Czech Foreign Ministry states that all three were sanctioned for conducting “activities that violate or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”
The bloodiest missile attacks that claimed the most human lives during the full-scale war were carried out mainly by X-101 and X-22 missiles: they struck an apartment building in Uman, Dnipro, and a shopping mall in Kremenchuk. They are produced by Russia’s largest defense holding company, Tactical Rocketry, whose CEO is Boris Obnosov.
Boris Obnosov is a close advisor to Putin and holder of the Order of the Hero of Russia, which he received during the full-scale invasion. Obnosov’s daughter owns 20% of the corporation, which proves her involvement in the shelling. Rostislav and Olga Zorikov, the individuals involved in the deaths of Ukrainian civilians, reside and own two luxury apartment buildings in the center of Prague. There is a high probability that the Obnosovs’ real estate was purchased with the money from the sale of missiles that took the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians.
The Center’s team organized a series of demonstrations near the Russian businessman’s house and submitted a series of appeals to the Czech government and MPs. In particular, on May 17, an action was held in Prague, during which a banner with the inscription “Confiscated! Funds from the sale of this house will be sent to Ukraine as war reparations”.
Photo from the demonstration in front of the Zorikovs’ house. Source – USCC.
“Using the money that Russia continues to receive, bypassing sanctions, it arms itself and continues to destroy Ukraine. Every politician, businessman and figure who sponsors and facilitates the war against Ukraine has no right to live in peaceful Europe. Sanctions should be imposed on everyone involved in the deaths of Ukrainians,” said Serhii Kuzan, the Chairman of USCC.
On July 26, a projection with a video of missile strikes on Ukraine was displayed on the Zorikovs’ house to draw attention to Russia’s war crimes. The footage shows the shelling of cities with missiles manufactured by Obnosov’s holding.
Photo from the demonstration in front of the Zorikovs’ house. Source – USCC.
“The presence of supporters of the Putin regime here not only does not ensure the stability and security of the Czech Republic, but also confirms the possibility of circumventing sanctions for Russian officials. This should not be the case: the course chosen by the states to support Ukraine in this war should be manifested in all spheres,” commented Anastasia Signaevska, organizer of the actions in the Czech Republic, representative of the USCC in the Czech Republic.
The Russians have already had their property confiscated, including 14 apartments and the Riomax real estate rental company. In particular, the inclusion in the sanctions list also provides for a ban on entry and stay in the Czech Republic, the impossibility of conducting any financial transactions through Czech legal entities and the freezing of any assets in the country.
The Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center and our representative offices around the world continue to work systematically to identify and combat Russian influence. Everyone involved in Russia’s war must be punished.