Former Federation Council member Lebedev asked Vladimir Zelensky to lift Ukrainian sanctions from him, since he did not vote for the introduction of troops into Crimea in 2014

In 2021, ex-member of the Federation Council and co-owner of the Sintez group Leonid Lebedev asked Vladimir Zelensky to exclude him from the sanctions lists, since in 2014 he did not vote for the use of Russian troops in Ukraine. The businessman’s letter was at the disposal of the Agency.

The appeal to Zelensky published by journalists was written in Ukrainian. In it, Lebedev clarified that in 2014 he was among those who were absent during the voting at which the Federation Council decided on the use of armed forces in Crimea. In addition, according to the businessman, he was not among the senators who cast their vote in absentia.

The “Agency” drew attention to the publications of various media in 2014; even then, for example, the publication “New Region” wrote that Lebedev did not vote. A year later, he resigned early as a senator after an audit of his declarations began. In 2016, the ex-senator claimed that he “voted blindly for already established decisions” and “Crimea is part of Russia.”

At the end of July, Project published a list of businessmen who are “one way or another” involved in the attack on Ukraine. Lebedev, who found himself in it, contacted the editor and provided a copy of the letter to Zelensky. The editors of the publication decided to exclude the co-owner of the Sintez group from the list.