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War is expensive, very expensive. Ukraine is now painfully aware of this, two years after the Russian attack. The billions that the West has already sent to the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (46) are not going anywhere. And the main sponsor of the Kiev war machine, the United States, has temporarily halted all further aid to Ukraine.
Now someone is stepping into the breach for whom money worries have been a foreign concept since childhood: Howard Buffett (69), eldest son of mega-investor Warren Buffett (93), currently number seven on the list of richest people in the world.
With his Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the billionaire scion wants to transfer no less than 300 million dollars to Ukraine this year. Howard Buffett announced this on the Business Insider portal. Buffett Junior has long proven that this is more than just empty words. His foundation has invested a total of $521.7 million in humanitarian projects in Ukraine since the outbreak of the war.
Elon Musk and the founders of ‘Fortnite’ are also jumping in
Buffett, who has visited Zelensky in Ukraine several times, is a big fan of the Ukrainian president. “There are few people who can handle the situation as he can,” Buffett says of Zelensky. In addition to the American flag, he also wears the black and red Ukrainian Cossack flag, a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, on his body armor.
Buffett is far from the only private investor trying to plug the holes in Ukraine’s financial budget. Rinat Akhmetov (59), chairman of the Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk and one of the richest men in Ukraine, has invested more than $220 million in Ukrainian defense since the start of the war. With his ‘Stahlfront’ initiative, he buys drones, vehicles and protective clothing for soldiers and pays widow’s pensions to the families of deceased frontline fighters.
Numerous Western companies are also coming to Ukraine’s aid. Microsoft invested about $430 million in the first year of the war to keep the Ukrainian government on track digitally. Elon Musk’s (52) satellite internet company Starlink distributed 20,000 free receivers to the Ukrainian military, covering operating costs of approximately $100 million. And Epic Games, manufacturer of the computer game “Fortnite,” transferred all revenues generated by “Fortnite” (about $140 million) to Ukraine in March 2022.
Denmark’s mega gift
Ukrainian soldiers are encouraged to launch private appeals for donations to purchase new drones, weapons or vehicles. Online fundraising campaigns such as the ‘Gift for Putin’ project, supported by the Czech Ministry of Defense, are currently raising money for drone bombs, a Black Hawk helicopter and armored vehicles for the Foreign Legion.
Ukraine needs these improvements to survive in what is expected to be an extremely difficult year. Experts are already advising Kiev to be “strategically patient”: Ukraine cannot achieve much in its current state. It is better to wait, take a defensive position, arm yourself and then make another attempt in 2025.
However, this attempt can only be successful if not only Howard Buffett and Co. to remain in the mood to donate, but also as Western governments – especially the US – become more generous again. Denmark set a good example last week. The country gives Ukraine its entire artillery depot – down to the last cartridge.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
