Ukraine should take the first step and impose sanctions on Russian citizen Mikhail Ipatov, whose company continues to operate at the Ukrainian grain terminal Olympeks, if it is confirmed that he is helping the Russian authorities in the war against Ukraine. After that, Kiev's international partners may join the sanctions process. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by former Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine and former acting Prosecutor-General Viktor Chumak.
Details
UNNUNN reportedthat russian citizen Mikhail Ipatov opened three new Algorithmics programming schools in Europe, particularly in Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, after a large-scale invasion. All of them are actually branches of the largest Russian IT school Algorithmics. According to experts, the Russian authorities can use these programming schools to obtain new technologies to improve weapons used against Ukraine, in particular, fpv drones. At the same time, one of Ipatov's companies, Omega Terminal-Ukraine, continues to operate unhindered at the Ukrainian grain terminal Olympex, while he himself does business with Odessa-based businessmen Serhiy Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko.
Direct sanctions on this Russian and his companies, but indirectly on all those schools that he opens or that work with him. If these schools are located in the EU or NATO countries, this, especially IT schools, can be linked to cyber security, we are linked to NATO by the only treaty on joint cyberspace and cyber data protection, so there are a lot of tools to respond here
According to him, the main thing is for Ukraine to take the first steps - to put Ipatov and his companies on the sanctions lists, after which international partners will join the process.
Chumak added that the Foreign Ministry, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service could look into the matter and investigate Ipatov's ties with Russia and his support for the war against Ukraine. The information found may serve as a basis for adding Ipatov and his business to the sanctions lists in Ukraine and may be passed on to Ukraine's international partners in order to impose restrictions on them.
Recall
The Swiss company Omega Terminal S.A. rf citizen Mikhail Ipatov serves as the main cover for its director, allowing him to work quietly, including in Ukraine. According to public data, she 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 retain 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 agroholding, 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.