“I will consider donating to an Arctic charity”

Andrey Yakunin, the son of the former President of the Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin, who was awarded 2,7 million kroner (€228,764) compensation by the Norwegian court in a drone flying case told the Barents Observer that he is thinking about donating the money to an Arctic charity: 

“We say ‘don’t count the chicks before they hatch’. I would rather prefer to finish the legal proceedings first, - Andrey Yakunin said in an email sent to the Barents Observer via his press team. - For years I have found charities and foundations focused on research, education, and cultural heritage resonating with me most. Initiatives related to support of research on Svalbard seem to be fitting these circumstances nicely.”

Yakunin has dual Russian-British citizenship and he had to spend more than 50 days in custody after he launched a drone in Svalbard in the summer of 2022, where Yakunin traveled on his yacht Firebird. 

Yakunin said that he got advice “to have faith in the Norwegian judiciary” from a British consulate in Oslo. When asked by the Barents Observer if he also sought any advice from the Russian consulate, the response was the following: 

“As I entered Norway on my British passport I didn’t see any other reason to contact anyone else at the time”. 

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian citizens are not allowed to operate drones on Norwegian soil. After multiple sessions, the Norwegian court concluded that Yakunin could not have known back then that it was illegal to fly a drone in Svalbard and he was acquitted of any wrongdoing.