Ukraine’s richest man has pledged to rebuild the besieged city of Mariupol amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The man's name is Rinat Akhmetov he has s seen his business empire shattered by eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine.
“Mariupol is a global tragedy and a global example of heroism. For me, Mariupol has been and will always be a Ukrainian city” he said. “I believe that our brave soldiers will defend the city, though I understand how difficult and hard it is for them" he added.
He said: “For us, the war broke out in 2014. We lost all of our assets both in Crimea and in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas. We lost our businesses, but it made us tougher and stronger."
“I am confident that, as the country’s biggest private business, SCM will play a key role in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine,” he added.
Russia launched a war on Ukraine on February 24. However, according to the latest updates, at least two Ukrainians were killed overnight in Russian airstrikes on cities in the east of the country. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, and about 10,000 injured in the conflict. Also, US media has reported senior defence officials confirming the Russian warship, Moskva, was destroyed by a Ukrainian missile strike. However, Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal and top finance officials will visit Washington next week, according to reports. The delegation, also including finance minister Serhiy Marchenko, and central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko, are expected to have bilateral meetings with finance officials from Group of Seven countries and others, and would take part in a World Bank-hoste