Kyiv | Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, long labeled pro-Russian, denounced Thursday “crimes against humanity against Ukrainians” perpetrated according to him by the Russian army, clearly showing his support for his country.
“What is happening (in Ukraine) is a war crime and a crime against humanity against Ukraine and Ukrainians,” said Mr. Akhmetov, 55, in an interview with Forbes magazine, insisting that “this cannot be explained or justified”.
For this former Ukrainian deputy, a “victory” over Russia would correspond to “a ceasefire and a total withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and the restoration of the borders recognized by international law, which includes Crimea” , Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia and territories in eastern Ukraine that had been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
Ranked 327th in the world’s fortunes by Forbes, with an estimated fortune of $5.5 billion, Rinat Akhmetov has been president of the Shakhtar Donetsk football club since 1996 and founder of SCM Holdings, a company mainly active in the steel industry, the energy, but also the coal industry and metallurgy.
He was also for years the main financial sponsor of the Party of Regions of Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian president ousted in the wake of the pro-European Maidan revolution in 2014.
Mr. Akhmetov also praised “the united action of the Western world” to support Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24 while warning Westerners that “all free countries were potential targets” for Vladimir Putin.
“If Ukraine falls, no one knows who will be the next country to be invaded,” he warned.
On his activities in Ukraine, the oligarch explained that “in times of war”, “they are concentrated to help people”, but also “the army (…) to defend our sovereignty, our freedom and our independence”.
Mr. Akhmetov, who says he is still in Ukraine, had announced his return to the country after a call from Volodymyr Zelensky for unity among the country’s fortunes launched in mid-February, shortly before the start of the invasion.
The oligarch finally indicated that he “had no contact” with wealthy Russians since the start of this war.