SQUATTERS have taken over the luxury London mansion belonging to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The 11-bedroom central London pad, belonging to one of Putin's cronies, has been hung with banners reading "Putin go f*** yourself".
Activists broke into the £50 million mansion on Belgrave Square – one of London's most expensive addresses – just after midnight on Monday morning.
One banner reads "This property has been liberated," while a second reads "Putin go f*** yourself" in Russian and English.
A Ukrainian flag has also been hung from an upstairs window.
Deripaska, 54, was one of seven oligarchs to be sanctioned by the UK government for his ties to the Kremlin following the bloody invasion of Ukraine.
He has an estimated worth of £2 billion and a multi-million-pound UK property portfolio.
The US first put him under sanctions in 2018.
He bought the 11-bedroom home, known as London's most-expensive terraced house, for an estimated £25 million in 2003.
The Met Police has sent a response team to the property on Belgrave Square, where all but three of 30 properties are owned by foreigners.
A Met Police spokesman said: "Police were called shortly after 1.00hrs on Monday, March 14 to a residential property in Belgrave Square, SW1.
"Officers attended and found that a number of people had gained entry and hung banners from upstairs windows. Officers remain at the location."
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Deripaska was hit with an asset freeze and banned from any transactions with UK individuals and businesses following the announcement of sanctions on Thursday.
Unlike other wealthy Russians listed, Deripaska has responded personally to the sanctions, slamming the UK government's actions and suggesting he could challenge them in court.
A furious Deripaska declared on Twitter: "Since there's not a single fact in support of Boris' cabinet's fantasies it will be for the courts and the police to decide the future for all in this sanctions story."
As well as Belgrave Square, the Putin ally reportedly owns a five-bedroom listed mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, on the exclusive St George's Hill private gated community.
He is alleged to have put the house on the market last month for £18m just prior to the invasion of Ukraine.
Estate agents Knight Frank have now reportedly pulled out trying to sell the home.
Deripaska is a close ally of President Putin and has been accused of helping the Kremlin in foreign influence operations.
He quit as a director of Russian energy giant EN+ group in response to the sanctions.
Deripaska made his money as a metals broker trading aluminium after graduating from Moscow State University with a degree in physics.
He has two children with his ex-wife Polina Yumasheva, the stepdaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
They divorced in 2018.
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