Ukrainian oligarch on Saturday I swear to help rebuild His shattered country – just five months after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused him Financing a pro-Russian coup.
Billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man, declared, “We will rebuild the whole of Ukraine.”
“We will certainly need an unprecedented international reconstruction program, the Marshall Plan, for Ukraine,” he added, referring to the massive US-led effort to restore Europe in the aftermath of World War II.
The two steel plants that Akhmetov established in Mariupol, are his backbone $3.9 billion fortuneThey were handicapped during the rule of Russia The bombing continues From the strategic Ukrainian port city.
“My ambition is to return to Ukraine’s Mariupol and implement [production] “She plans so that the steel produced by Mariupol can compete in world markets as before,” Akhmetov said.
“Mariopol is a global tragedy and a global example of heroism,” he said. “I believe that our brave soldiers will defend the city, although I understand how difficult and difficult it is for them.”
In November, Zelensky accused Akhmedov of plotting to overthrow his government in a Russian-backed plot – amid rising tensions as Vladimir Putin’s forces along the Ukrainian border massed in a military build-up before the invasion.
Akhmetov, an outspoken opponent of Zelensky’s anti-corruption measures targeting the country’s oligarchy, It’s called a coup claim Politico reported at the time an “absolute lie.”
On Saturday, the oligarch praised Zelensky’s “passion and professionalism” in resisting the Russian invasion.
“War is certainly not a time for disagreement,” Akhmetov said.
Akhmetov’s pledge to help his homeland came a day after his steelmaker Metinvest declared, “Maripol must remain Ukrainian.”
“We believe in the victory of Ukraine and … we will never work under Russian occupation,” The company said.
