'This Property's Been Liberated': Russian Oligarchs' Homes Abroad Broken Into

Activists also occupied a luxury villa in France belonging to the ex-husband of Putin's younger daughter.

Mansions and luxury villas have been broken into by Russian activists and squatters in protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

(Photo: Twitter/@unethicalprude)

Mansions and luxury villas in the UK and France have been broken into by anti-war activists in protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Two Russian activists have been arrested after they occupied a luxury villa in Biarritz owned by Kirill Shamalov, a Russian billionaire and the ex-husband of Russian President Vladimir Putin's younger daughter Katerina Tikhonova.

Biarritz is a seaside town in the Basque coast of southwestern France.

The two activists who stormed into Shamalov's villa are Pierre Haffner and Sergey Saveliev, according to The Guardian, who changed the locks and stated that they would offer the property to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

A similar incident was observed in London.

Squatters, according to NPR, took over the London mansion that is reportedly owned by Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire sanctioned by both the US and the UK.

Videos from the scene shows the Ukrainian flag hanging from one window and banners that read, "This property has been liberated" and "Putin go f*** yourself."

The protestors belong to a group called the London Makhnovists, the BBC reported.

The group named itself after Nestor Makhno, a Ukrainian anarchist who revolted against the Russian White Army during the Russian Civil War.

"By occupying this mansion, we want to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, but also the people of Russia who never agreed to this madness," the group stated, as quoted by Reuters.

"You occupy Ukraine, we occupy you."

The group also asserted that the property would "serve as a centre for refugee support" and it would break into other properties of Russian oligarchs.

(With inputs from BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, and NPR)