Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov is the richest person in Ukraine, as well as the owner of the football club «Shakhtar», which was founded in Donetsk. Previously, he was suspected of being pro-Russian, as he was a key sponsor of Viktor Yanukovych’s party, which, as we know, overthrew the Ukrainian people because of the country’s choice of direction towards Russia, rather than the EU. So there were a lot of questions around the most wealthiest man.
But, after the Russian invasion of the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Rinat made clear his position — «What the Russian army is doing on the territory of Ukraine — a crime against all humanity». He sued the Russian leadership, he was also not afraid to talk about Putin, saying that «Putin will not stop in Ukraine if he is not stopped, because he wants to destroy all countries where there is a democracy, independence, and freedom».
Most of Akhmetov’s enterprises are located in the territories where active hostilities are being conducted, so he has lost a huge part of its capital, which now amounts to only 5.5 billion dollars. Some of its plants have already been completely destroyed, for example, «Azovstal». At the same time, the businessman said that he is glad that this place serves as a shield for Ukrainian defenders, thanks to its sturdy structures underground.
Certainly, the aggression and bloodshed that Russia unleashed cannot go unpunished, so Rinat Akhmetov https://www.epravda.com.ua/rus/tags/akhmetov/ stated that his company would sue Russia for damages it had caused to Ukraine’s infrastructure.
The most wealthiest man is also sure that the Russian Federation will pay every last penny of all reparations, as the Ukrainian authorities will not let it go. This is such an interesting statement from Rinat, as recently there was tension between him and President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky because of the non-payment of debt to DTEK (Akhmetov’s company).
This was the ground for disagreement, as well as accusations of discrimination by the Ukrainian authorities. But, February put everything in its place and the problem was solved.
After all, two influential personalities came to a consensus and came to reconciliation — the debt was paid. Moreover, Rinat Akhmetov did not give doubt his Ukrainian position and even decided to transfer his industry to the territory of the Lviv region.
