By Elizabeth Piper

KYIV (Reuters – Ukraine’s richest man pledges to aid rebuilding Mariupol. This is a city close to his heart, where he has two huge steelworks which he believes will be able to compete internationally.

Rinat Akhmetov’s business empire has been destroyed by 8 years of fighting in Ukraine’s east. But he remains determined, certain that “our brave soldiers”, which he refers to as “our brave troops”, will protect the Sea of Azov town from being reduced to rubble by 7 weeks of bombardment.

However, Metinvest Ukraine, Ukraine’s largest steelmaker has said it can’t deliver its supply contract. And while SCM Group, his financial and industrial SCM Group, is paying its debts, DTEK his private power producer “has optimised its payment of its dues” through an agreement.

“Mariupol was a tragic and heroic example of global heroism. Mariupol was and will continue to be a Ukrainian capital,” Akhmetov stated in writing answers to Reuters questions.

He said that he believes in the brave soldiers who will protect the city. However, he added that he is in constant contact with Metinvest managers, who oversee the Azovstal and Illich Iron and Steel Works plant in Mariupol.

Metinvest announced Friday it would not be able to operate in Russia under Russian occupation. It also stated that more than one-third of Ukraine’s metalurgical production had been destroyed by the siege at Mariupol.

Akhmetov spoke highly of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s “passion” and professionalism during war. This seems to have helped to smoothen relations last year when the Ukrainian leader said that plotters had sought to undermine his government.

Akhmetov described the allegation as “an absolute lying” in that time.

“And war is not the time for us to be at odds… We’ll rebuild Ukraine,” he stated, adding that his return to Ukraine was Feb. 23, and that he has been back there every since.

“A MARSHALL PLANS FOR UKRAINE”

Akhmetov was not able to give any specific location, however he stated that he’d been in Mariupol since February 16th. This date is when some intelligence services from the west had anticipated the invasion. He said, “I spoke to people on the street and met workers …,”.”

My ambition is to go back to Ukraine and to implement (new production plans) so Mariupol steel can be as competitive in international markets.

Russia invaded the Ukraine in February 24th when Vladimir Putin, President of Russia announced that a “special operation” would be launched to demilitarize and “denazify” Russia. Kyiv and Western allies rejected that pretext as an excuse for an unprovoked attack.

Since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea’s Black Sea peninsula, Akhmetov has witnessed his business fortune shrink. In addition, two of the eastern Ukrainian provinces – Donetsk (annexed by Russia) – declared independence from Kyiv.

Forbes magazine estimates that Akhmetov has a net worth $15.4 billion. It is currently at $3.9 million.

The war began in 2014 for us. All of our assets were lost in Crimea as well as in Donbas, which was temporarily under occupation. He said that although we lost our businesses it was a strength for us and made us stronger.”

According to officials, $1 trillion of damage has been done by war, “I’m confident that SCM as the country’s largest private enterprise will play a crucial role in post-war reconstruction” he stated.

In reference to U.S.-funded aid projects that had helped rebuild Western Europe in the aftermath of World War Two, he stated, “We will certainly need an unparalleled international reconstruction programme for Ukraine, a Marshall Plan.”

“I believe that all of us will rebuild a Ukraine free and democratic after we have won this war.