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  • Biggest private charity contribution: Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s largest private donor, sends UAH 5 billion in aid to support the country and its people over one year of war

Biggest private charity contribution: Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s largest private donor, sends UAH 5 billion in aid to support the country and its people over one year of war

22.02.2023

Since the first day of the full-scale invasion, Rinat Akhmetov’s businesses and initiatives have been helping the country, military and civilians, so that Ukraine can withstand and win, and people can survive and stay healthy. One year into war, SCM’s businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, and Shakhtar Football Club have donated UAH 5 billion ($150 million) to help the nation.

The initiatives supporting Ukrainian defenders are primarily implemented under the umbrella of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military project. For SCM, this is of prime important, as over 13,000 employees of its businesses have joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As part of the project, the military units across the country receive body armour, vehicles, drones, special technical equipment (thermal imagers, rangefinders, cameras, etc.), fortifications, clothe, shoes, first-aid kits, haemostatic tourniquets, two-way radios, fuel, and other essentials they need. In particular, Metinvest has developed and is now manufacturing dugout shelters for the soldiers on the frontlines. The capsules can withstand even artillery shells. The company has supplied over 100 modular shelters to the army to date.
In addition, the steelmaker produces armour steel. Now one in ten bulletproof vests in Ukraine is made from Metinvest’s steel, thus making about 150,000 in total. In winter, it is vital to keep our soldiers warm, so the company will produce 5,000 field stoves.

In addition to the total aid of UAH 5 billion, Rinat Akhmetov has allocated UAH 1 billion ($25 million) to the Heart of Azovstal project launched as part of the Steel Front. The initiative provides help to the fighters of defence forces units that remained in besieged Mariupol from February to May 2022. As part of the programmes, the assistance will be provided to Mariupol defenders as well as to the families of prisoners of war, the killed, and those who are missing.

Supporting the country’s critical infrastructure, in particular energy system and telecommunications, is our another important area of focus. Despite the ongoing shelling, DTEK engineers and repair crews do everything they can to bring electricity back on to Ukrainian homes. They have reconnected nearly 7 million families to the grid since 24 February 2022. Ukrtelecom continues doing everything in its power to provide communication services even amid frequent power outages. Internet services are available in 87% of Ukrainian localities covered by the operator’s network. About 60% of Ukrtelecom’s subscribers already enjoy Internet connectivity, which is independent of rolling or emergency electricity blackouts. The company installed dozens of free public Wi-Fi hotspots in big cities.
Rinat Akhmetov’s businesses and projects provide regular humanitarian assistance to civilians, primarily in the frontline and liberated areas. The most vulnerable groups of people, the displaced, including evacuated employees of SCM businesses and their families, receive food packages, essentials (clothing, household items, etc), and medicines. In addition, SCM takes care of shelters, bomb shelters, and hospitals by providing sources of electricity and water in the areas where its businesses operate. Support is also provided to local administrations and utilities, from fuel to personal protective equipment.
The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has provided dozens of thousands of blood containers, hundreds of thousands of medicines and nearly half a million food packages to Ukrainian civilians. Following the decision made by Rinat Akhmetov, the Foundation will hand over 800,000 food sets to Ukrainians. The organisation is also a founder of the Museum of Civilian Voices, the world’s largest collection of stories told by Ukrainian civilians who suffered from Russia’s war. More than 60,000 stories of war-affected people have been collected so far.

In addition, FC Shakhtar provides ongoing assistance to athletes, the displaced, and combatants of the Defence Forces of Ukraine. As part of Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace, the club raised
UAH 44 million
to help Ukraine. FC Shakhtar and the European Football for Development Network launched European Football Powers Up Ukraine, a campaign to collect power generators for Ukrainian residents. FC Shakhtar Shelter Centre continues operating at Arena Lviv stadium and hosts IDPs from the frontline areas. FC Shakhtar helped organise treatment of Azovstal defender Mykhailo Dianov in the United States and covered all hospital costs.
In 2022, SCM investment group as well as its associates and joint ventures paid UAH 73.2 billion in taxes and levies.
#СталевийРік #YearOfSteel