Many people think the so-called Russian elite
lost access to their lives of luxury after sanctions were imposed and are waiting in anticipation for the war to end. But in fact, despite bans, restrictions and sanctions, Kremlin billionaires are driving
the latest 2023 Maybachs and Rolls-Royces right now in Moscow. Subscribe to Ukrainska Pravda on YouTube below this video,
and let’s get started. UKRAINSKA PRAVDA 7 December 2022. DAGESTAN, RUSSIA A convoy of 57 cars is tearing along at a high speed
. In Russia, it’s not at all surprising to see
50 cars escorting one person What is surprising is that this video was filmed
in the ninth month of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Mercedes-Benz was one of the first companies
to leave Russia because of the sanctions, yet we can still see the latest
2022 armoured Mercedes S-Class in the convoy. Levashi, Dagestan This amateur video shows the convoy
arriving in a village in Dagestan for a funeral. Emerging from a new 2022 Mercedes S-Class, w
e see… Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Mr Kadyrov, we aim to take Kyiv now – what’s next? Now it’s Kyiv, and then we’ll see
who will meddle in our affairs. A car like this costs about €700,000. Experts say not many of these cars are made
and they are hard to get hold of. This car came on sale in summer 2022 and could not be delivered to Ukraine, say,
until autumn 2022. Yet Ramzan Kadyrov,
who is sanctioned in almost every civilised country, had this new luxury armoured car in December 2022. We di
scovered that Kadyrov’s Mercedes
has fake number plates, registered for a different car, a 2011 Lada Priora. Four months before the full-scale invasion,
in October 2021, Kadyrov was using
an armoured Mercedes from previous years. And no sanctions prevented
one of the key players in the Russian aggression from buying a new one at the end of 2022. For security reasons,
there is another identical car in the convoy so as not to give away
where the escorted person is. Well… Two. Note that the second
Mercedes in Kadyrov’s convoy
is the old version. This could mean Kadyrov still had some problems
obtaining a new Mercedes. Lift the sanctions! This visit to Dagestan was unofficial.
Kadyrov has different cars for public events. Here is Kadyrov constantly using a Mercedes GLS in 2022. The same car can be seen near Kadyrov in a 2023 video. This footage shows Kadyrov, who officially hates the West… I’m giving these to all the commanders. … giving new Mercedes and American GMC cars
to his top securi
ty officials. [speaks different language] This is footage from the wedding
of one of Kadyrov’s sons last year. We see two new Mercedes S-Class. That’s a brand-new 2023 Mercedes. Yes, this is the latest Mercedes electric car,
worth over €100,000. Friends, join the Ukrainska Pravda Club
to support journalism that leads to change and to contribute to providing society
with unbiased information. Because as Zelenskyy said: you + me = us,
and together, we can beat anyone! Kadyrov is definitely not
the
only member of Russia’s political elite who manages to bypass sanctions and combine
committing war crimes in Ukraine with buying new cars. “They [the West] are proposing to ban
exports of screwdrivers, needles, etc. But the less of this junk
the better for us, perhaps. It’s less likely that bed bugs
will be exported to us from European megacities. MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Right now we have 24 cars just in the showroom. These cars are worth around RUB 900 million. This is one of many car salesmen
selling
the latest, most expensive cars in Moscow Experts said that when Russia launched
its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it was extremely hard to import leading brands into Ukraine,
but Moscow had no problems. We’ve been forced to resort to import substitution, when we never thought we would have to.
This phrase is the key one: we’re being forced. There’s some room for negotiation on price.
I don't know if there will be a New Year discount. Most likely the price will go up.
There are very f
ew cars left in Europe now, after all This video was recorded in November 2022,
nine months into the full-scale invasion. Rolls-Royce had announced its withdrawal
from the Russian market back in March 2022. This is the most expensive car in Russia. Now, this car costs, as far as I remember,
RUB 92 million. According to Ukrainska Pravda’s information, the so-called Russian elite continues to buy
the most expensive cars in the world. Haters, live long and prosper. Love you! For example, if you thi
nk that Putin's closest oligarchs were left without new Rolls-Royces in 2022-2023 because of the war, sanctions and bans,
you are wrong. We can give a clear example of such hypocrisy. This is a 2023 Rolls-Royce Phantom
worth $1.3 million. This British car was purchased
during the second year of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine on 19 May 2023. This photo was taken in Moscow.
We found it on Instagram. The Rolls-Royce is registered to Yevgenia Guryeva, wife of one of the wealthiest Kremlin oligar
chs,
Andrey Guryev. but if you look closely, in the back seat,
behind the stripy St George's ribbon, you can see Guryev’s son, Andrey Guryev Jr. And his father can be recognised in the front seat. Well, in conclusion, I would like to say… thank you once again, to you
and to the government of the Russian Federation. for the attention you pay to our industry, and the agro-industrial complex,
because we work in complementary ways. And, of course, I would like to assure you that we will remain the g
uarantor of food security in Russia. Guryev’s company [PhosAgro]
is the largest producer of mineral fertilisers in Russia and one of the largest in the world. According to independent Russian media,
coincidentally, some of the companies are owned by… Putin's university tutor,
under whose supervision Putin wrote his dissertation. Andrey, we are certainly
one of the leaders, if not the leader, in terms of supplies of mineral fertilisers
to world markets. In 2008, the Guryev family bought
Britain’s
most expensive mansion, worth £300 million. But as we saw last year,
no one has lived there since last summer. On 24 February 2022,
day one of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Guryev's son, Andrey, attended
the meeting Putin held with his closest oligarchs. We are not going to damage
the system we feel part of. We are not going to damage
the world economic system. So it’s not surprising that both he and his father
have been sanctioned by almost all leading Western countriess. Unless the
necessary amount of mineral fertiliser
is put into the soil worldwide, we will have a massive global food crisis. But now, the sanctioned Andrey Guryev
has acquired a new 2023 Rolls-Royce, even though Rolls-Royce left the Russian market
after the start of the Russian aggression. And if you think the Guryev family
only bought one Rolls-Royce during the full-scale invasion, you’d be wrong there too. Because Putin's business partners can afford to buy two. This is a 2022 Rolls-Royce Phantom,
purch
ased on 30 December 2022, i.e. for the New Year. This photo was also taken in Moscow.
This car also costs over a million dollars, there’s another St George's ribbon on the windscreen, and it also belongs to Yevgenia Guryeva. You may not believe this, but in total,
eight Rolls-Royces are registered in Yevgenia Guryeva’s name. Since the start of the full-scale invasion,
the Guryevs have spent almost $3 million just on Rolls-Royces. If we don't start selling fertilisers
in full volume today, this s
ummer, then the 2022-2023 season will not only be cold,
it will also be a very hungry one. The reason why all the cars are in Yevgenia Guryeva’s name
is very simple. Unlike her son, she has not been sanctioned. Andrey, I would like to thank you
and everyone who works in this industry, for what you are doing
to develop Russian agriculture. We had a record harvest last year. And unlike her husband. I've known Andrey for a long time. I knew him before
he was in the high position he’s in now. The on
ly problem is, the ImportGenius database
says neither of the Guryevs' new Rolls-Royces were officially imported into Russia. Neither were these Rolls-Royces,
which we managed to find on Instagram. They were all made in 2022
and are now being driven around Russia with Russian registration. Officially, according to ImportGenius,
the last car was delivered to Russia on 6 February 2022, two weeks before
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The world's first mass-produced
electric Rolls-Royce Spe
ctre is now in Moscow. By the way, Rolls-Royce’s first electric car,
the new 2023 Spectre, was also presented in Russia three months ago. How did this car get to Russia,
given the short supply and years-long waiting list? So far we’ve found three of these vehicles
on the roads of the aggressor country. To provide a tool for the notification of authorisation, to grant product certification rights
in strategically important industries – complicated, isn’t it? – Dima, they’re not laughing at me.
–
Is it me? This is Kremlin oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky. – Go ahead, Dmitry Alexandrovich.
– Honourable Vladimir Vladimirovich… Like other Russian oligarchs, Pumpyansky has earned billions
in exchange for his loyalty to the Kremlin. He is described in the Russian media
as a long-standing partner of the state. He's got us funded,
so he's basically done everything. Prior to the full-scale invasion,
Pumpyansky owned a Russian company that manufactured steel pipes
for the oil and gas industry worldwide
. We have operations in North America,
Europe, Russia and Kazakhstan. And we have projects in Asia and Africa. On 24 February 2022,
day one of the full-scale invasion, Pumpyansky attended the meeting
of oligarchs close to Putin. Certainly, I see our goal
as providing you with favourable conditions. So it's no surprise that Dmitry Pumpyansky
is currently sanctioned by the US, EU, UK, and several other countries.
As is his son. These users include some of the biggest
and most well-known names in t
he oil and gas industry. And this is Putin's meeting
with Russian oligarchs in March 2023, one year after Russia launched
its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I'd like to commend Russian business leaders
and their management teams for reshaping investment and trading chains
and establishing logistics routes in a short period of time,
despite intense external pressure. The main representatives of Russia’s Forbes list
are all present in the hall – Vekselberg, Khan, Bokarev,
Melnichenko, Mordashov,
Potanin and Pumpyansky. But those who stayed here and worked hard
have proved to be smarter, more energetic and more effective than those who left and now counsel our adversaries.
Our success is evident. Dmitry Pumpyansky was indeed successful
in establishing new logistics routes and proved to be smarter,
as he remained in Russia earning billions. Four months after this meeting,
his company Sinara Group purchased a new 2023 armoured Mercedes-Maybach
worth over €700,000. Beer is only for trade un
ionists. We must proceed cautiously in this matter. The VIN code of Pumpyansky's Maybach
does not appear in ImportGenius's financial declarations. This means he may have imported the new vehicle
covertly and unofficially. What was he saying now?
Re-register and everything will be fine. This came at a time when
Pumpyansky's sanctioned son Alexander had won an appeal against Swiss sanctions against him. Only last summer, however, due to the restrictions, he was forced to drive a Mini Cooper in Gen
eva,
where he was discovered by Ukrainska Pravda’s film crew. – Good afternoon.
– Hello. My name is Mykhailo Tkach.
I’m a journalist at Ukrainska Pravda. We’re making a film
about Russian oligarchs’ families, and we wanted to ask you
whether you consider Putin a war criminal. No comment. You live in Europe and are attempting
to appeal against the sanctions imposed on you because of Russia's attack, the full-scale invasion. Do you condemn the full-scale invasion?
Do you consider Russia’s actions
to be war crimes? Dmitry Pumpyansky, Alexander's sanctioned father, can apparently afford to cruise around Moscow
in the latest Mercedes-Maybach. We see a significant
window of opportunity for ourselves here. It’s worth noting that to find just one new car
owned by a public – and, crucially, sanctioned – individual, we had to search through and verify
dozens of new vehicles. And that’s just what can be found
in public databases. That means hundreds, if not thousands, of new cars
have arrived and
continue to arrive in Russia. This is a brand new, fully equipped 2022 Lexus LX600 owned by the Russian Defence Ministry’s
General Directorate. This is a new 2022 Land Cruiser 300 in a motorcade belonging to the Federal Security Service, the FSB. This is a new 2022 Mercedes, purchased in April 2023, which was seen being driven in Moscow
in a Federal Protective Service motorcade. It’s registered in the name of Yevgeny Slizhov. Yevgeny’s son is
a 35-year-old serving FSB officer, Aleksandr Slizhov
. In 2022-23, at least two new vehicles entered Russia, both owned by the state-owned Gazprombank,
which is considered to be Putin's personal “wallet”. There’s also a string of new cars worth over $100,000 that appear to be linked to government motorcades
and whose number plates don’t appear in any databases, as well as dozens of luxury vehicles
registered with leasing companies to conceal their true owners. They are officially leased
or have covered number plates. We used the international data
base ImportGenius
to find out how many luxury vehicles have entered Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion,
which brands, and which countries they came from. Perhaps some people are still unaware
that you can order not just Korean-made cars from Korea, but also European, American and Japanese vehicles. Between 24 February 2022 and 31 July 2023,
Russia imported 763 premium-class Mercedes, 49 Mercedes-Maybachs, 32 Bentleys, 27 Lamborghinis, 302 Range Rovers, 199 Land Cruisers, 89 Porsch
es, and three Aston Martins. After studying ImportGenius, we can say with full certainty
that luxury cars enter Russia from such countries as the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye,
China, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Korea
and, of course, Belarus. February 2024.
Road border crossing between Poland and Belarus Mercedes, Gelendewagens, BMWs, Range Rovers. Entering Belarus.
And maybe Russia. The database shows the VIN codes of the vehicles
that officially enter Russia through third countries. Out of thousan
ds, we randomly checked
a few dozen VIN codes to determine their owners. And you won't believe this. On 17 July 2023, a new 2023 Land Cruiser was imported into Russia
that’s now registered with Aeroscan. Aeroscan produces Lancet unmanned aerial vehicles. Its primary goal is to kill and destroy. The new Land Cruiser was bought in Japan
and brought to Moscow through the Emirates. Here's a video from last September
of Putin inspecting Aeroscan and those very same drones. The president inspected the
component production lines
and gliders being manufactured, the latest models of special equipment and unmanned vehicles,
and the plant’s training centre. Aeroscan, among other things,
produces Lancet loitering munitions and reconnaissance UAVs. With a Rolls-Royce Spectre, you’ll conquer the world.
Didn’t you know? Fatal error. Are we really ready for a nuclear war? From a military-industrial standpoint,
of course we are ready. We always, always remain
in a state of combat readiness.
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