UK deputy PM suggests seizing the mansions of Russian oligarchs and using them to house Ukrainian refugees

• The UK's deputy prime minister suggested seizing the mansions of Russian oligarchs.
• Dominic Raab on Friday said the mansions could be used to house Ukrainian refugees.

UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab suggested on Friday that the mansions of Russian oligarchs could be seized and used to house Ukrainian refugees.

"If we've got the evidence and the legal basis, then we'll do it," Raab said on LBC radio after he was asked if the UK could seize property owned by Russian oligarchs, the Guardian reported.

Raab defended the UK's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week, which has included sanctioning high-profile Russians and targeted the country's economy.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said earlier that the UK has a "hit list" of oligarchs who will be sanctioned, and the government said its financial sanctions against Russia could last 10 years.

"We are looking at everything in the round, it is a team effort across government, from the foreign and defense secretary through to [Housing Secretary] Michael Gove and, of course, the prime minister is driving this very hard," Raab told LBC, according to the Guardian.

A similar sentiment was made by the mayor of western Ukraine's Lviv, who said on Tuesday that the UK should put refugees in the London homes of Russian oligarchs.

"What we need now is for Boris Johnson to start freezing the bank accounts of Russian oligarchs in London and to seize their luxury villas," Andriy Sadovyi told the Guardian.

He added: ""It would be better to use them to house Ukrainian refugees."

Aside from the UK, the US, European Union, and other nations have slapped a wide range of sanctions on Russian elites, their families, and the country's financial sector.

France has gone after the $120 million super-yacht owned by a Russian oligarch, and Germany may go after a different one.