A Russian oligarch has heavily criticised Russia’s actions in Ukraine, calling for an end to President Vladimir Putin’s “insane war”.
Oleg Tinkov is one of Russia’s best known entrepreneurs and one of the most high profile Russians to publicly call out the actions of Mr Putin.
The founder of the global online bank, Tinkoff Bank, and owner of cycling team Tinkoff-Saxo, took to Instagram to share his views on what he called Russia’s “massacre” in Ukraine.
In his post on the social media platform, Mr Tinkov said that 90 per cent of Russians were against the war in Ukraine and added "morons in any country are 10 per cent".
"I don’t see a SINGLE beneficiary of this insane war! Innocent people and soldiers are dying," he added.
"Waking up with a hangover, the generals realised that they have a shit army.
"And how will the army be good, if everything else in the country is shitty and mired in nepotism, sycophancy and servility?"
He went on: "Kremlin officials are shocked that neither they or their children will be off to the Mediterranean in the summer. Businessmen are trying to save the rest of their property.”
Further into the post, Mr Tinkov switched to English, and appealed directly to the West.
He wrote: "Dear ‘collective West’ please give Mr Putin a clear exit to save his face and stop this massacre. Please be more rational and humanitarian."
Mr Tinkov has previously denied having any close relationship to Mr Putin or to the Kremlin, but was sanctioned by the UK government.
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr Tinkov’s wealth was estimated at more than $4.4bn (£3.4bn).
However, he has since lost his billionaire status following a rapid drop in value of his bank’s shares, Forbes reported last month.
He owns around 35 per cent of Cyprus-based TCS Group Holding whose companies under the Tinkoff brand include sectors from mobile services to insurance and banking. Share prices of the company have plummeted this year.
The 54-year-old also stepped down as chairman of Tinkoff Bank in 2020. TCS said in March that as Mr Tinkov did not occupy any decision-making position, any sanctions against him would not have an effect on the company.
