Russia making Zelensky pay for war, to sell Ukraine President’s Crimea home: Report

Russia-Ukraine war: The Russian Government has seiged Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's holiday home in Crimea. Reports have suggested that the Vladimir Putin-led Russian government plans to sell the house to further fund the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has been going on for more than a year now. 

UK news outlet The Telegraph reported that Crimean leader appointed by Russia released a video in which he announced the local legislature's decision to nationalise 57 assets formerly owned by Ukrainian businessmen and public figures.

Referring to the Ukraine president’s flat, Sergey Aksyonov said, ‘Crimea will regain rights for a number of properties including a building in Simferopol that belongs to the banned Crimean Tatar parliament as well as Olena Zelenska’s flat.

"Enemies of Russia won't be making money in Russian Crimea," he added.

Before becoming the President of Ukraine, Zelenskyy had been a successful comedian and co-owned a successful television production company. Zelenskyy and his wife had purchased the three-room penthouse in the famed coastal town of Livadia in Crimea in 2013.

This served as their vacation home. 

The property was valued at roughly $800,000 ( ₹6,61,69120), according to the Russian state media.

The apartment will be auctioned off, with proceeds going towards Russia's war in Ukraine, Vladimir Konstantinov, the speaker of Crimea's parliament, said.

"It will be put up for sale, and the money will first of all go towards the needs of the special military operation, the families of the killed soldiers, and the families of the mobilised men," he told state Russian TV.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told China's special envoy Li Hui on Friday that there were "serious obstacles" to resuming peace talks, blaming Ukraine and Western countries.

During the meeting with Li, who was China's ambassador in Russia between 2009 and 2019, Lavrov also praised Beijing's "balanced" position on Ukraine.