“We will rebuild the whole of Ukraine,” said billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man. “We will definitely need an unprecedented international reconstruction program, a Marshall Plan, for Ukraine,” he said, referring to the massive US effort to rebuild Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Akhmetov’s two Mariupol-based steel plants, the backbone of his $ 3.9 billion fortune, have been destroyed during Russia’s ongoing bombing of Ukraine’s strategic port city. “My ambition is to return to a Ukrainian Mariupol and implement our own [production] “So that the steel produced in Mariupol can compete in world markets as before,” Akhmetov said. Rinat Akhmetov pledged to help rebuild Ukraine after the war. NurPhoto via Getty Images Rinat Akhmetov’s steel mills were based in the besieged city of Mariupol. AP “Mariupol is a global tragedy and a global example of heroism,” he said. “I believe that our brave soldiers will defend the city, although I understand how difficult and difficult it is for them.” In November, Zelensky accused Akhmetov of plotting to overthrow his government in a Russia-backed conspiracy – amid rising tensions as Vladimir Putin’s forces rallied along the Ukrainian border in a pre-military offensive. Akhmetov, a staunch opponent of Zelensky’s anti-corruption measures targeting the nation’s oligarchs, called the coup a “complete lie,” Politico reported at the time. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Rinat Akhmetov of plotting a coup against him in November. AFP via Getty Images Rinat Akhmetov called what Russia did in Mariupol a “global tragedy.” The Anadolu agency through Getty Images On Saturday, the oligarch praised Zelensky’s “passion and professionalism” in resisting the Russian invasion. “War is definitely not the time for confrontation,” Akhmetov said. Akhmetov’s oath to help his country came a day after steel company Metinvest said: “Mariupol must remain Ukrainian.” Rinat Akhmetov said Ukraine would demand its own Marshall Plan. AP “We believe in the victory of Ukraine and we will never operate under Russian occupation,” the company said.
