Russia is trying to auction off Zelenskyy's apartment in Crimea

Russian officials are planning to auction off Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's apartment in Crimea.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters

• Earlier this year, Russia nationalized 500 properties on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
• Now, they're auctioning them off, including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's apartment.
• The news comes just days after Ukraine launched an offensive on a Russian naval shipyard in Crimea.

Russian officials occupying Crimea said earlier this year they had nationalized 500 properties in the region.

Now, Russian-installed officials in Crimea — placed there by Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 — say they will soon auction off about 100 of these properties, Reuters reported. 

Among them is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's apartment.

Authorities have already sold a handful of properties worth a combined $8.51 million, said Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the Crimean parliament, according to Reuters.

Russian officials first announced in May they would sell Zelenskyy's Crimea apartment and use the proceeds to fund their war in Ukraine, Insider previously reported. The penthouse apartment, located in a resort town on the Black Sea, is thought to be worth about $800,000.

The announcement of the planned auction comes after Ukrainian forces launched a missile strike against a Russian naval shipyard in Crimea on Wednesday morning, Insider previously reported. The tsrike damaged Russia's Minsk landing vessel and an attack submarine.

The Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars — a partisan group fighting Russian forces in the occupied territory — said a double agent in the Russian military helped them execute the strike, Insider reported.

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Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/o2ERhPv

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