Akhmetov donates UAH 2.1 bln to help Ukraine since start of war

Since the beginning of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia, SCM businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and FC Shakhtar, have donated more than UAH 2.1 billion or almost $72 million for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense and to provide assistance to the affected population, the report says.

"In order for assistance to be as effective as possible, its directions and volumes are determined in coordination with the central and local authorities," the release says.

In particular, for the needs of the defenders of Ukraine, personal protective equipment, drones, thermal imagers, anti-tank hedgehogs, fortifications, first-aid kits and other necessary things were purchased, the report says.

According to it, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, together with the SCM businesses, organized humanitarian aid to the population with medicines, food and its delivery from Europe, help in the evacuation and arrangement of shelters. In the cities of presence of SCM businesses, support centers and jobs for migrants are deployed, fuel, materials and any available assistance to utilities are provided. Ukrzaliznytsia is provided with coal for evacuation trains.

The release also says that Akhmetov's DTEK supplies free electricity to doctors, bakers, and the military in Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. And the Shakhtar football club deployed a Shelter Center at the Lviv Arena (it has already received more than 500 IDPs) and started a series of Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace in Ukraine charity matches, the funds from the sale of tickets and advertising will be used to help the defenders of Ukraine, volunteer organizations, doctors and children affected by the war.

Media Group Ukraine, under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the Office of the President, together with other media groups, has launched an international foreign broadcasting channel FreeDom, to which it sends millions of hryvnias of its own funds every month, the report says.

"In addition, SCM was the first, even before February 24, at the initiative of Rinat Akhmetov, to advance to the state UAH 1 billion in taxes for 2022 to increase the country's defense capability and support the economy. In total, since the beginning of 2022, the total amount of funds transferred to Ukraine by Rinat Akhmetov exceeds UAH 3 billion or $100 million," the release states.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua