Ranking richest Ukrainians by their wartime donations
Which of the richest Ukrainians gives more to the army (Photo:Yelyzaveta Serhiienko/NBU Press Center)
The New Voice of Ukraine, together with investment company Dragon Capital, investigated which Ukrainian billionaires, despite enormous economic losses sustained, donated the most to Ukraine’s Armed Forces and humanitarian relief efforts.
Rinat Akhmetov spent the most on defense and humanitarian needs of Ukraine – over UAH 3 billion ($74 million).
Petro Poroshenko, who regularly reports on assistance to the army, comes second. As of September, the Poroshenko Foundation, Roshen, and Sprava Hromad NGO have transferred about $46 million worth of aid to the Armed Forces. The list of equipment for the frontline, which Poroshenko claims to buy, is extensive: machine guns, radios, ambulances, Italian Shield and British Spartan armored vehicles, four-wheel drive military trucks, pickup trucks, as well as more than 350 Autel drones.
The foundations of Victor and Olena Pinchuk took the third place. As of September, they, together with Interpipe, have allocated $45.3 million for the army and assistance to Ukrainians during the war. Seven Armed Forces and Territorial Defense brigades are under the systemic patronage of the Pinchuks. Among other things, they have sent 65 UAVs to the army, including 12 Furies – modern drones, equipped with cameras and fire control processing systems.
The fourth place belongs to Vadym Novynskyi, the owner of Smart-Holding group of companies, who has allocated almost UAH 900 million ($24 million) to finance humanitarian projects and support Ukraine, in general. Metinvest's (metallurgy company, co-owned by Novynskyi) steel was used to manufacture tens of thousands of defensive structures, anti-tank fortifications, and modern protective gear.
Co-owner of Ferrexpo (another Ukrainian major steel producer) Kostiatyn Zhevaho is in the fifth place. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Zhevaho has spent more than UAH 800 million ($21.7 million) on military and humanitarian aid. In late October, Zhevaho’s Kremenchukmyaso company supplied Ukrainian troops in Kharkiv Oblast with over 900,000 field rations.
Dmytro Firtash comes in sixth. Since the beginning of the war, Group DF has allocated UAH 547.7 million ($14.8 million) to help Ukraine. “We were the first major business to supply our troops with air defense equipment – modern anti-drone systems, thermal visors, and other specialized gear. More recently, we began to supply more equipment and cold weather gear that will help the Armed Forces of Ukraine to conduct military operations in winter," Oleh Arestarkhov, Head of Corporate Communications at Group DF, told NV Business.
Epicenter Group, founded by Oleksandr and Halyna Hereha, comes in seventh. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the company has donated over UAH 400 million ($10.8 million) to humanitarian initiatives in different regions across Ukraine. The company opened three humanitarian hubs: in Kyiv, in the west, and in the east of Ukriane, and purchased 20 ambulances through the UNITED 24 platform.
There is no information available on material support of Ukraine by billionaires Ihor Kolomoisky, Hennadiy Boholyubov, and Vlad Yatsenko.
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