Confiscated Luxury Apartment of Ukrainian First Lady Sold for 600 Million Won

Crimea Villa... Russian Businessman Wins Final Bid
Bought in 2013 but Russia Invaded the Following Year

An apartment owned by Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, which was forcibly confiscated by Russia, has reportedly been sold at auction for $470,000 (approximately 630 million KRW).

According to Russian news agency TASS and other foreign media on the 30th (local time), the apartment located in the upscale resort village of Livadiya in Yalta, Crimea, was sold for 44.3 million rubles ($470,450). The apartment belonged to First Lady Zelenska but was nationalized by Russia last March.

Apartment in Crimea formerly owned by Mrs. Zelenska [Image source=Yonhap News]

The auction started at 24.6 million rubles (about $264,064), but the final bid nearly doubled that amount. There were two rounds of bidding at the auction, and the final winning bidder was Olga Nikolaevna Lipovetska, a businesswoman from Moscow.

According to the British daily newspaper The Telegraph, the Russian government had previously announced plans to sell the nationalized property in May. The properties confiscated by Russia included not only assets belonging to First Lady Zelenska but also 57 properties owned by Ukrainian tycoons and celebrities in Crimea.

First Lady Zelenska purchased the apartment in 2013 when Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, was working as a comedian. However, the apartment was under renovation at the time, and to make matters worse, Russia invaded and forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014, so it is reported that she never lived there. Russian authorities reportedly have not made any renovations to the apartment since confiscating it.

The apartment has a floor area of 119.5 square meters (approximately 36 pyeong), and its balcony on the 5th floor offers an attractive view overlooking the Black Sea and Livadiya Palace.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.