Russian Oligarch Renounces Citizenship After Claiming 'Everything Putin Touches Dies'

An oligarch and former oil tycoon has publicly renounced his Russian citizenship as Putin continues to invade neighbouring Ukraine.

In a post on Facebook, Leonid Nevzlin announced that he wanted to get rid of his Russian passport and calling his home country a 'fascist' state.

"Russian citizenship in itself has turned into a mark moral turpitude that I no longer want to carry … I’m against the war," Nevzlin said.

"I’m against the occupation. I’m against the destruction of the Ukrainian people.

"I cannot afford to be a citizen of a country that kills children of other countries."

The former oil tycoon went on to highlight that he is an Israeli citizen but he would be 'proud to receive a Ukrainian passport'.

Nevzlin and Russian president Vladimir Putin have a chequered past, with the former fleeing to Israel after murder and financial charges were levied against him nearly 20 years ago.

""Russian citizenship has become a stamp of shame which I no longer want to wear. Enough is enough," Nevzlin wrote in the post. "I am against the war. I am against the occupation. I am against the genocide of the Ukrainian people."https://t.co/xB3c2NtOBv

— AuntiePho (@newjunefletcher) March 9, 2022

Nevzlin, who now resides in Israel, claims he was the victim of political persecution during the Yukos investigation.

His new home has refused to extradite him back to Russia since he left in 2008.

According to Buisness Insider, Nevzlin has repeatedly denied the charges against him, and referred to Russian authorities in his statement on Facebook.

"I was one of the first to be hit by Putin. He threw my friends in jails, and killed some of them," Nevzlin said, before adding that 'everything Putin touches dies'.

💵Billionaire Mikhail Fridman lives in the £65m Athlone House, backing onto Hampstead Heath

🇷🇺He’s one of the few oligarchs to publicly criticise the war, but has still faced sanctions after the EU labelled him an ‘enabler of Putin’s inner circle.’ pic.twitter.com/hmdlZIJvpp

— My London (@myldn) March 7, 2022

Nevzlin isn't the first Russian oligarch to hit out at Putin over the Ukrainian invasion.

His former business partner Mikhail Khodorkovsky told CNN that Putin's move against Ukraine likely reduced the time the Russian president remains in power.

Russia's former richest man is an outspoken critic of the Russian president after he was thrown in jail by Putin in 2005 for helping fund the opposition party running against the now-Russian leader.

I don't always agree with @harari_yuval - for me he's always been too politically correct to be an unbiased historian. But here I do agree with him, and I am sure most Russian people do - we need peace. https://t.co/NJ7r20U3Qa

— Oleg Deripaska (@DeripaskaOleg) March 7, 2022

Sanctioned Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have also called for the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible.

"We need peace as soon as possible, as we have already passed the point of no return...The entire world will be different, Russia will be different as well," Deripaska said.

Steel tycoon Vladimir Lisin has so far dodged sanctions, but has also urged Putin to end the war via a letter to his employees.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.