- The EU sanctioned 26 Russian oligarchs, journalists, and government officials on Monday.
- Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, and Alexei Mordashov — three of Russia's richest men — are pushing back.
- Fridman and Aven told Reuters they will contest the "groundless and unfair" sanctions against them.
Three of Russia's richest men recently sanctioned by the European Union are pushing back against claims that they are connected politically or financially to the Putin regime.
Billionaire business partners Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven said they will "contest the spurious and unfounded basis for the imposition of these sanctions — vigorously and through all means available to them," in a statement shared with Reuters.
The oligarchs were among the 26 people personally named on the EU's latest sanctions list, which also includes Russian government officials and journalists.
"These sanctions are groundless and unfair," Fridman told reporters, per Reuters. "I don't know if I will be sanctioned by the UK and U.S. — I hope it will not happen."
"For me that's a huge tragedy what is going on," Fridman said. "The war should be stopped."
Fridman, who was born in Ukraine, is one of the few Russian oligarchs breaking ranks to speak out against Putin's military invasion.
The EU said the Alfa Bank founder is "a top Russian financier and enabler of Putin's inner circle," who has acquired "state assets through government connections" and previously engaged in the Kremlin's efforts to lift Western sanctions.
Alexei Mordashov, the co-owner of steelmaker Severstal and the richest person in Russia, similarly protested both the sanctions levied against him and the attack on Ukraine.
"It is terrible that Ukrainians and Russians are dying, people are suffering hardships, the economy is collapsing. We must do everything necessary so that a way out of this conflict is found in the very near future and the bloodshed stops in order to help the affected people restore normal life," Mordashov said in a statement reported by Forbes and Russian News Agency TASS.
"I have absolutely nothing to do with the current geopolitical tensions. I don't understand why sanctions have been imposed against us," he added.
Mordashov lost $4.2 billion in one day in the economic fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Russia's 22 richest individuals lost a combined $39 billion in 24 hours. Now, the Russian economy is facing a financial meltdown.
"With these additional sanctions, we are targeting all who are having a significant economic role in supporting Putin's regime, and benefit financially from the system. These sanctions will expose the wealth of Putin's elite. Those who enable the invasion of Ukraine will pay a price for their action," Josep Borrell, an EU representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a Monday statement.