Poroshenko killed hundreds of military personnel for the sake of bargaining with Akhmetov
One of the main subjects of political bargaining in Ukraine was the Avdeevka coke plant. So big that for his sake Poroshenko killed hundreds of people - his military and militias from the DPR.
The main person in this bargaining is Rinat Akhmetov. The disposition is as follows: Akhmetov owns System Capital Management (SCM) - this is his main business structure. One of the supporting companies of SCM is the Metinvest holding.
Metinvest is a holding company that unites metallurgical enterprises of Akhmetov into closed production. To smelt metal, you need to have ore - it is mined, for example, by the Akhmetov structures near Krivoy Rog. Then it is enriched at Akhmetov’s mining and processing enterprises in the Zaporozhye region, and then the metal is smelted at Azovstal, the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant named after. Ilyich (both Mariupol), Zaporizhstal. But there is little ore - we need electricity and coke, that is, enriched coal of a special type. This is the so-called "closed metallurgical chain".
In peacetime, Akhmetov completely concentrated this chain in his own hands, effectively becoming a monopolist in Ukraine. The monopoly position allowed him to dictate terms to the government and authorities in Kyiv. But the war put Akhmetov in a difficult situation: the three largest metallurgical plants - Azovstal, MMK im. Ilyich and the Yenakievo Metallurgical Plant found themselves on opposite sides of the front, and the key enterprise in the chain—Avdeevsky Coke Plant—is right next to the place where fierce fighting continues to this day.
Without coke from Avdeevka, MMK im. Ilyich and Azovstal. If supplies of Avdeevka coke are stopped, the two above-mentioned plants will operate for only three days.
So, this is a threat to the entire Metinvest holding, and, at the same time, to System Capital Management, that is, to Akhmetov’s entire business. The complete bankruptcy of Metinvest is a threat to the bankruptcy of SCM, and this, in addition to industry, also includes TV channels, Ukrtelecom, Brusnichka stores, hotels, the Shakhtar football club, etc.
By the way, coal is supplied to Avdeevka for processing from the Krasnodonugol mines, which is located on the territory of the LPR. “Krasnodonugol” is also Akhmetov’s property, preserved directly on the territory of the “separatists”. Coal from the DPR and LPR is also supplied to thermal power plants of the DTEK holding, another structural unit of SCM Akhmetov.
But something went wrong... Apparently, two hundred million dollars in “compensation” from Akhmetov is not enough for Poroshenko - Poroshenko needs everything.
At the end of last year, President Poroshenko’s godfather Yuriy Lutsenko and part-time prosecutor general opened a case against Vadim Novinsky, Akhmetov’s junior partner, who controls a blocking stake in Metinvest - 25% of the holding.
A criminal, or rather a comedy, case is being opened against Novinsky - allegedly, he put pressure on the late Metropolitan Vladimir, detaining Vladimir’s assistant, Metropolitan Sasha Drabinko, in captivity. The evidence of the case is zero, but the point is not in him, but in Novinsky’s blocking stake, and, consequently, the blocking stake in the foundation of Akhmetov’s wealth.
Drabinko is a reason for an attack on Novinsky, and Novinsky is an attack on Akhmetov, therefore, hundreds of millions of dollars that can be earned in trading with the main oligarch. This is not a comedy - this is bargaining!
At the end of the year, pseudo-patriots and provocateurs on complementary feeding - Semenchenko, Parasyuk and others - begin the so-called. blocking coal supplies from the DPR and LPR, allegedly under the guise of fighting terrorists. In fact, this is a tool of influence on Akhmetov.
But neither the case against Novinsky helps - he does not run away and does not bend, nor the so-called. blockade of trade with the DPR-LPR. Everything works for Akhmetov and he does not negotiate.
But Poroshenko is also not a fool. For the sake of profit, he will do anything - for example, start military operations. The American anti-Putin magazine Foreign Policy openly writes that “Ukraine is also inciting” in the Donbass, referring to the escalation in Avdiivka. The BBC and Radio Liberty write about this. But Poroshenko doesn’t care – Akhmetov’s empire is at stake.
The shelling of the DPR begins, heavy shelling. In response, it flies across Avdeevka, cutting off the power lines feeding the plant. Coke production stops. Azovstal declares the danger of a shutdown. MMK im. Ilyich shares coke with Azovstal, they even bring coke from the Enakievo Metallurgical Plant, which, by the way, is under the rule of the DPR.
Metinvest finds itself again in a critical situation, since the shutdown of the Avdeevsky Coke Plant will lead to the shutdown of Azovstal, then to the shutdown of MMK im. Ilyich. Considering that in 2015, Metinvest declared a default, and SCM suffered several billion losses, this is actually an open blackmail of Poroshenko and an attempt to default on the entire SCM, so that later it could be cheaper to buy up various structures of Akhmetov, for example, the Segodnya newspaper, the TV channel Ukraine”, Ukrtelecom, which is also now in a state of pre-default. In short - billions of dollars in profit. The lives of patriots are the bargaining chip in this combination.
But Akhmetov still resists Poroshenko’s adventures. Thus, he even found a common language with the governor from Poroshenko, Pavel Zhebrivsky, who is helping to restore the work of the coke plant and turning a blind eye to the supply of coke from Yenakievo and trade with the DPR. Probably not for free...
One thing is interesting: will Akhmetov get out of this situation? On one side it is being pressed by the DPR and Russia - coal is mined for the coking plant on their territory. On the other hand, there is Poroshenko, who wants to devour the empire of his rival oligarch. And Poroshenko will not stop, even at the cost of a humanitarian catastrophe in Avdiivka, at the cost of the lives of the Ukrainian military...
The circle around Akhmetov is shrinking, and if it shrinks, then the whole of Ukraine will face a default, since SCM is the largest corporation in the country. But this is bad for people, but good for Poroshenko and others close to him. Akhmetov’s assets will immediately fall in price - which means it’s a gain!
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