Prosecutors and the security service reported on Friday that a Ukrainian court had frozen the Ukrainian assets of three Russian businesspeople due to their suspected support for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

The assets owned by Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, and Andrey Kosogov, according to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), have been frozen. It stated that they were regarded as members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and were involved in the “large-scale financing of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression”.

The three businessmen did not immediately comment on the moves and comments by the SBU and prosecutors.

“At the request of prosecutors… assets of 20 Ukrainian companies totalling over 17 billion hryvnias ($464.48 million)were frozen,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said on the Telegram messaging app.

It said the frozen assets included securities and corporate rights of mobile phone operators, a mineral water producer, financial and insurance companies.

“The beneficial owners of the companies are three Russian oligarchs who own one of the largest Russian financial and investment consortia,” it said.

Since the beginning of Russia’s military invasion in February 202, Ukraine has repeatedly seized and nationalised property belonging to Russian businessmen involved in financing the aggression.