Kyiv, 16 En. (dpa/EP) –
The owner of Shakhtar Donetsk, Rinat Akhmetov, has created an aid fund for the defenders of the city of Mariupol in the war in Ukraine with part of the money received from the millionaire transfer of midfielder Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea.
“To help our fighters and defenders, and also their families, I am going to allocate today one billion hryvnias -the equivalent of about 23.5 million euros-,” Akhmetov announced Monday on the club’s official website, adding that The money will go towards medical treatment, psychological care and prosthetics, among other things.
The Azov Sea port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine was captured by Russian troops in the spring of 2022, just months after the start of the war, much of it being destroyed in the process.
Akhmetov’s business empire is largely based on the Mariupol steel works, where the last Ukrainian soldiers held out for weeks. “We are eternally indebted to our defenders!” declared the 56-year-old president. His new fund will be called ‘Heart of Azovstal’.
The transfer of 22-year-old midfielder Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar to Chelsea was announced on Sunday. The Ukrainian club could receive a total of 100 million euros for the transfer, between the 70 already paid and the possible 30 more in variables.