In the 1990s, he was the Belarusian vice-champion in motorsport and worked as a coach for a long time. He later became fascinated with the sea and switched to windsurfing and yachting.
In 2013, Ochkas bought an old yacht in Poland, restored it himself, and named it "Fortuna." Since then, he began offering vacation services on the Minsk Sea, striving to create a high-quality and beautiful water-based service in Belarus, although he acknowledged that it would be impossible to develop a full-fledged business out of it in our latitudes. His brand was called yachts.by.
Yuriy holds pro-Ukrainian views. "I believe everything will be Ukraine!" he wrote in one Facebook post.
Yuri's last social media post was dated August 30, 2025 , when he published a recording from the Masurian Lake District in Poland. He was likely detained shortly thereafter while returning to Belarus.
He was tried in the Minsk City Court under Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code. This is most likely related to pro-Ukrainian posts on social media.
Yuri was sentenced to a penal colony.
