Ukraine should actively identify businesses connected with the Russian Federation abroad and work on imposing sanctions against them to prevent rf from influencing international politics. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by candidate of political sciences, international expert Stanislav Zhelikhovskyy.
"The Ukrainian state should also work actively in this field and discover together with our partners those businesses that may be associated with rf or its satellites - Belarus or other countries friendly to the Putin regime, so that we can together oppose it and restrict rf wherever possible," Zhelikhovsky said.
According to him, sanctions are an effective mechanism for deterring Russia, as Russian President Vladimir Putin is actively demanding their removal. "Therefore, it is necessary to intensify work in this direction so that Russian interests can be identified wherever possible," he said.
At the same time, the expert does not rule out that Russia may retain influence through the companies of its citizens working abroad. "I do not rule out that perhaps, indeed, Russia has the ability to influence certain figures, including in the EU, in order to be able to promote both its economic interests and its financial interests," Zhelikhovskyy said.
In his opinion, it is precisely because of such individuals that the Russian authorities manage to slow down sanctions processes. "We must understand that just behind such businesses can hide agents of influence in the EU, and therefore we see that in this way they can also influence opinions and the like, and then bring to power those political forces in Europe and other countries of the free world that would be convenient for the Kremlin," Zhelikhovsky said.
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One example of active activity abroad is the Swiss company Omega Terminal S.A. Terminal S.A. russian citizen Mikhail Ipatov, which serves as the main cover for its headallowing him to work quietly in Ukraine as well. According to public data, Ipatov's Swiss company is the founder of the Ukrainian company of the same name "Omega Terminal-Ukraine." Notably, this Russian company works with Attollo Granum, through which Odessa businessmen Sergei Groza and Vladimir Naumenko attempted to maintain control over the Olympex grain terminal. "Attollo Granum" also appears in several criminal proceedings for tax evasion, and is also very likely to be actively cooperating with the under-sanctioned smuggler Vadim Alperin. Ipatov also runs another Swiss company of Groza and Naumenko, GNT Europe SA. This company is not just part of Groza and Naumenko's GNT Group agro-holding, it owns stakes in a number of companies in Ukraine that continue to operate even after the large-scale invasion of Russia. Moreover, some are even suspected of "gray" grain exports.
In addition, according to media reports, Ipatov has been the managing partner of Algorithmics Central Europe since 2020. Algorithmics (Algoritmika in Russian) is a leading Russian online programming school. According to the Swiss registry, Ipatov also opened an Algorithmics school in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2022, and previously started a branch in the Czech Republic and Poland.
According to media reports, Russia's Algorithmika, as well as Ipatov himself, are closely linked to Vladimir Potanin, a very close sub-savvy billionaire very close to Putin, who owns Rosbank as well as Nornickel, among other companies. The Russian oligarch invested 10 million dollars in the school.
In 2022, Ukraine and a number of other countries, including Canada and the United States, imposed sanctions on Potanin. Accordingly, the oligarch cannot conduct business abroad on his own. It is possible that Ipatov is one of the pawns in the game of the Russian authorities in the international arena.
But the question arises, how in the third year of the war such a person can do business in Ukraine and not just anywhere, but at a strategically important enterprise - the Olympex grain terminal? And why do law enforcement agencies still allow it?