"Slap in face to Putin regime": Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company wins court case over property in Vienna city centre
www.pravda.com.ua
Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:11:46 +0200
A Vienna court has dismissed a longstanding request from representatives of the Russian Federation to remove the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company UDSC from its premises in the heart of the Austrian capital.
Source UDSC CEO Dmytro Moskalenko Details Weve upheld our right to use the building and did not cede the property, to which we are entitled, to Russia.
The decision is truly historic because Russia has never been denied.
This is a loud slap in the face to the Putin regime, he wrote.
In 1975, the USSR Embassy in Austria acquired a building and a plot of land in the centre of Vienna.
The property was purchased with funds from the Danube Shipping Company, which utilised the premises for its operations.
A few years later, another building was constructed next to the old one, which housed the shipping companys headquarters in Austria.
After Ukraine declared its independence, the property remained under the control of the Danube Shipping Company despite the USSR being formally listed as the owner.
Today, the site and buildings, located in Viennas most expensive district, are valued at tens of millions of euros.
The Russians changed the owner of the building from the USSR to the Russian Federation in 2008.
They argued that the former republics allegedly renounced the external obligations of the USSR, and therefore, Russia is the only heir to the Soviet empire.
Even before the fullscale war, representatives of the UDSP had lost several court cases.
However, in 2022, a new team from the Ukrainian stateowned company entered the legal battle for the property.
Following the courts decision, the property remains under UDSPs control.
This is the first case where a European court has recognised Ukraine as a coowner of foreign property, and thousands of such assets are around.
The ruling marks a significant first step towards securing other real estate assets abroad, as Ukraine continues its battle for international recognition of ownership, Moskalenko said.
Background The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company has rejected a proposal from a Russian travel company to transfer its passenger fleet to them on a time charter.
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