Since the onset of the all-out Russian invasion, Rinat Akhmetov’s businesses and initiatives have been supporting the government, military and civilians to help Ukraine withstand and win, and help Ukrainians save their lives and survive. From 24 February to 1 July, SCM’s businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and Shakhtar Football Club have donated UAH 2.7 billion, or $90 million to this cause.
Humanitarian assistance to civilians is a priority area of support. The scope and areas of humanitarian aid are established in concert with the national and local authorities that help increase its efficiency. People receive food, medicines, and essentials. Rinat Akhmetov’s businesses help evacuate and accommodate internally displaced people, arrange bomb shelters, etc.
The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has donated to Ukrainians more than 606,000 units of medicines, over 60,000 blood collection bags, and around 235,000 food packages. In June, Rinat Akhmetov decided to double food aid to the most vulnerable and internally displaced people. Overall, 400,000 food packages will be handed over to Ukrainians. Moreover, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation is working to create the biggest archive of Ukrainian eyewitness accounts of the hostilities committed by Russia. The organisation has now more than 25,000 witness testimonies of the war-affected people.
Another large-scale humanitarian project, Saving Lives, is rolled out by Metinvest and DTEK in concert with the Foundation and international donors. More than 122,000 people, including the most vulnerable, have already received survival kits from the initiative. Medicines and medical devices continue to arrive in Ukraine. Thus, €238,000 worth medicines and consumables were handed over to hospitals in Zaporizhia and Kamianske. Also, the project helps build up strategic food reserves in the front-line cities and towns.
Shelter Centre deployed by FC Shakhtar at the Arena Lviv has already accommodated 1,100 IDPs from the front-line areas. Also, Shakhtar played several charity matches as part of their Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace in Ukraine. All funds raised from the sale of tickets and advertising (a total of UAH 25.6 million) were used to help Ukrainian defenders, volunteer organisations, medical staff, and war-affected children. The tour will continue in late July. Thanks to the Shakhtar Social Foundation, 14 European football clubs have joined the drive to collect and deliver humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian athletes and military also receive humanitarian aid from Shakhtar. The President of FC Shakhtar Rinat Akhmetov decided to provide UAH 60 million worth of financial assistance to football clubs and children’s football projects.
Lemtrans has joined efforts with its partners to develop and operate a humanitarian logistics network, #RailwayHelpsUkraine. The project helps thousands of Ukrainians regularly receive foodstuffs, water, medicines, sleeping bags and goods for children.
Overall, humanitarian aid from SCM’s businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and FC Shakhtar has reached more than 3 million people, including 1.2 million people who received assistance from the Foundation.
Providing support to our defenders, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the National Police and other power units is another focus area. SCM businesses regularly donate to Ukrainian defenders protective gear, vehicles, drones, technical equipment (thermal imagers, range finders, cameras, etc), fortifications, clothing, footwear, first-aid kits, emergency military tourniquets, walkie-talkies, fuel and other essentials.
Metinvest has donated to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 1,000 sets of special-purpose protective gear worth $2.5 million. They consist of light bulletproof vests with ceramic plates, helmets and thermal imagers. In addition, intelligence operatives have received 120 thermal imagers worth UAH 15 million. More than 60 drones, 50 night vision devices and special helmets worth UAH 10 million were handed over to the ground forces. Every week, Zaporizhstal hands over hundreds and thousands of bulletproof vests to our defenders. Metinvest has recently begun to provide free armour plates to the military upon official request. More than half of the anti-tank hedgehogs in Ukraine are made of Metinvest-SMC steel.
DTEK power engineers and Ukrtelecom workers help support the operation of the Ukrainian critical infrastructure on a daily basis, bringing back on electricity and connectivity to Ukrainian homes after the shelling, even in the front-line areas. Due to the efforts of Ukrtelecom workers Internet services are offered in 87% of localities and can be accessed in all regions except Luhansk and Kherson oblasts. Since 24 February, power has been restored to about 2.9 million homes across Ukraine. In addition, DTEK has been supplying free electricity to more than a hundred medical and military facilities. This aid has helped the public sector institutions save UAH 160 million. Ukrzaliznytsia evacuation trains as well as local communities received 550 tonnes of free coal.
Metinvest continues to support people in the areas where SCM businesses operate. The assistance hubs are located in the premises of Metinvest companies and provide help to Metinvest employees, local residents and IDPs. They create job openings and arrange shelters for the evacuees. Thus, DTEK Energy has already provided jobs to about 1,000 IDPs. Metinvest Group provides retraining courses to employees from Mariupol and helps them find a new job. The company also supports local administrations and local utility services: from providing fuel up to personal safety equipment and clothing for employees.
Under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the Presidential Office, Media Group Ukraine and other media groups continue providing financial support to FreeDom, an international broadcasting channel to lead a fightback against Russian propaganda.
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