Pro-Russian activists attack oligarch bank

About 300 masked pro-Russian militants have attacked a Ukraine bank owned by a billionaire regional governor critical of Valdimir Putin.

About 300 masked pro-Russian militants wielding baseball bats have attacked a branch of a bank owned by a regional Ukrainian governor critical of Moscow.

The gang on Sunday attacked the Donetsk office of the powerful Private banking and metal industry holding belonging to billionaire Igor Kolomoisky who is also governor of the nearby region of Dnipropetrovsk.

They shouted slogans accusing Kolomoisky, 51, of being a "fascist" and "enemy of the people," according to an Agency France-Presse reporter on scene.

A leader of Ukraine's Jewish community, Kolomoisky is worth $US2.4 billion ($A2.60 billion).

Kolomoisky has been particularly vocal in his opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, attacking him as "not normal".

"He has gone mad with his mission to re-establish the Russian empire," he has said, vowing that "separatism will not pass in Dnipropetrovsk".

Putin himself responded by calling Kolomoiski "garbage" and a "scoundrel".

The oligarch has hit the headlines recently in Ukraine by offering a bounty of $US10,000 for each separatist held and handed over to the authorities.


Share
1 min read

Published

Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world