Ukraine's secret weapon: Funding from the country's millionaires
August 19, 2014 -- Updated 1112 GMT (1912 HKT)
Ukraine's rich donate to military
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Many of Ukraine's mega rich making massive military contributions
- Of Ukraine's 100 richest people, according to Forbes, seven have publicly donated to the military
- But prosecutors are also investigating others for financing pro-Russian rebels
In a quiet oasis, huge
mansions sit on lush lawns behind gilded gates. Private security guards
stand watch over quiet, tree-lined streets.
You'd never know you're
in a country in the midst of a violent conflict, with near daily reports
of intense battles killing soldiers, pro-Russian separatists, and
civilians -- including children.
These are the mansions
that rose when the Soviet Union fell. And this is where many of Kiev's
new rich are riding out the crisis, far from the front lines of eastern
Ukraine.
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Here, we find Kiev
millionaire Vyacheslav Konstantinovsky sitting nervously on his
grandiose outdoor patio. He is surrounded by the spoils of a successful
construction business and restaurant chain.
Konstantinovsky -- with a
shaved head, tattoos, and muscled physique -- doesn't look like your
stereotypical fat cat millionaire. He looks tough, rugged -- and fearful
for his country. "If we sit and enjoy life here the [the war] will come
to us also," he tells me.
Konstantinovsky worries
about the struggling Ukrainian military. For years it had been ill
equipped, untrained, and underfunded. Now, he and his twin brother are
part of a growing group of Ukraine's mega rich making massive military
contributions.
Konstantinovsky has
donated $450,000 -- a figure funded, in part, by the sale of his Rolls
Royce Phantom -- to the military to supply soldiers with weapons,
uniforms, and supplies. "I can live without [my] Rolls Royce. But now
it's difficult to live without enough arms," he says.
According to Forbes, seven of Ukraine's 100 richest people have publicly donated to the military. Prosecutors are investigating others on the Forbes list for financing pro-Russian rebels.
The United Nations says
more than 2,000 people have died in eastern Ukraine since mid-April.
Many are civilian volunteers, who left their families and jobs to join
the fight.
What sets
Konstantinovsky apart from other wealthy Ukranian donors is the
53-year-old's background as a Soviet soldier. Now, he is a member of
Ukraine's volunteer battalions.
"If we don't fight, than
we will be humiliated and we will live in the same country as it was
before, when there was corruption. [The old government] was robbing
businesses, they were putting people in jail for nothing," he says.
He's already done one
rotation in Donetsk, and plans to return to the front lines. He knows
that each day, volunteers like him die -- yet is ready to send his wife
and children abroad, leave his mansion and join the fight.
"Of course I worry. But I
hope for good luck," he says. He hopes for a fast end to the fighting
and the birth of a new, stronger Ukraine. He hopes for a country with
more jobs, and more millionaires like him. "First we have to finish the
war. Then we will look at what to do," he says.
Ukraine's supporters are
also crowd-funding, raising $12 million for the country's defense
ministry in the latest campaign. The support comes despite the country's
fragile economy, falling salaries and weak currency.
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