KYV: Ukraine’s richest man has pledged to help rebuild the besieged city of Mariupol, a place close to his heart where he owns two giant steelworks he says will once again compete on the world stage will do.
Rinat Akhmetov sees his business empire shattered by eight years of fighting in the east of Ukraine, but is sure that what he calls “our brave soldier” will defend the Sea of Azov city from seven weeks of bombardment. has survived. will turn into a barren land.
For now, however, Ukraine’s largest steel maker, his Metinvest company, has announced that it cannot fulfill its supply contracts and that while their Financial and Industrial SCM Group is meeting its debt obligations, their private Power producer DTEK has “optimized its payments. Debt” in agreement with creditors.
Mariupol is a global tragedy and a global example of heroism. For me, Mariupol has always been and will be a Ukrainian city, ”said Akhmetov in a written answer to questions.
“I am confident that our brave soldiers will defend the city, although I understand how difficult and difficult it is for them,” he said, adding that he was in daily contact with the managers of Metinvest, Azovstal and Ilyich Irons. End are. Steel work plant. Mariupol.
On Friday, Metinvest said it would never operate under Russian occupation and that the Mariupol siege had disabled more than a third of Ukraine’s metallurgy production capacity.
Akhmetov praised President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “passion and professionalism” during the war, when the Ukrainian leader said last year that conspirators hoping to overthrow his government had tried to stop the businessman. Akhmetov called the allegation an “outright lie” at the time.
“And war is certainly not a time for obstacles … We will rebuild the whole of Ukraine,” he said, adding that he returned to the country on February 23 and had been there ever since.
Akhmetov did not say where exactly he was, but he was in Mariupol on 16 February, the day some Western intelligence services expected the offensive to begin. “I talked to people on the streets, I met workers…,” he said.
“My ambition is to return to a Ukrainian Mariupol and implement our (new production) plans so that Mariupol-produced steel can compete in global markets like never before.” Russia invaded on 24 February when President Vladimir Putin announced a “special operation” to demilitarize and “condemn” the country. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss this as a false pretext for an unprovoked attack.
Published in Dawn, April 17, 2022