Who is Victor Pinchuk, the Ukrainian oligarch demanding tanks for his homeland?

On January 18th Victor Pinchuk invited guests of The World Economic Forum 2023 to a project he has been working on with the Office of the President of Ukraine. Held in Davos, guests were presented with screens showing videos and installations about the war in Ukraine. The exhibition was held from 01/16 to 01/19, and the project was titled "Ukraine Is You."

Together with the office of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the foundation named after Pinchuk launched the "Ukraine is you" project. According to the website, the aim of the project is to "invite the visitor to be Ukrainian for a moment, while at the same time warning that what is happening in Ukraine is just as much a threat to others".

Photo: YouTube "Ukraine is you"

At the heart of the project is the exhibition, which showed videos of the city of Kherson on large screens, "its beauty, its threats and its suffering under the Russian siege," according to the project website.

Photo: Exhibition "Russian Warcrime House" in May 2022 in Davos

Another video, created from thousands of photos, showed "witness testimony on Russian war crimes in Ukraine, supplemented with informative maps and statistics," according to the Ukraine Is You website.

Photo: Exhibition "Russian Warcrime House" in May 2022 in Davos

The video installations were complemented by a discursive program that "brings together global thinkers, experts and local people in Ukraine. They discuss the attack on Ukraine, Russian war crimes, but also hope and strength, life and... defending and reclaiming freedom," reads the website text.

Photo: YouTube "Ukraine is you"

According to the project website, the goal of this project is to "bring the struggle of Ukrainians to where it belongs: in the hearts and souls of citizens of other countries who value freedom and who are not being attacked by an aggressor like Ukrainians at the moment who wants to erase life and the freedom to be who you are."

Photo: Exhibition "Russian Warcrime House" in May 2022 in Davos

In addition to Davos, the "Ukraine Is You" exhibition was also shown at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv, the UN General Assembly in New York and the Houses of Parliament in London.

The event in Davos began with a speech by Pintschuk, in which he spoke about his personal experience with the war. Referring to a rocket attack on his hometown of Dnipro, he said, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ): "I knew the building that was hit, my friends live there, and my eldest daughter is also in the city."

Pinchuk has created this event with an agenda in mind, he wanted to persuade western countries to supply arms to Ukraine. According to the FAZ, Pinchuk said: "You have them, please give us the equipment!"

It was not without reason that Pintschuk held the event in Davos on January 17. It was related to the World Economic Forum (WEF), which took place at the same time and place.

The article on the WEF can be found here: Meetings of Power - What was discussed at this year's World Economic Forum

The question of further arms deliveries to Ukraine was a central topic both at the WEF and at the conference of defense ministers in Ramstein - and Germany in particular was in the limelight.

It is also well known in the media that Ukrainian politicians such as President Volodymyr Zelensky or Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov are demanding support through the supply of arms, especially battle tanks. In this context, however, the Ukrainian oligarch Pinchuk was only rudimentarily brought into the focus of the media. So, who is Pinchuk?

Victor Pinchuk is a multi-billionaire with an estimated net worth of almost two billion US dollars. The oligarch is the second richest man in Ukraine after Rinat Akhmetov.

According to Cambridge Dictionary, an oligarch is "someone who is extremely rich and powerful, especially a person from Russia who became rich after the end of the former Soviet Union."

Pintschuk, born in Kyiv in 1960, completed an engineering degree, which he successfully completed in 1983. His specialty was in the metal industry. He dedicated himself to the development of techniques for the more cost-effective production of pipes. Through his company "Interpipe", founded in 1990, he was able to earn money from the patents.

However, Pinchuk did not build up his fortune through his education or his company, but through marriage. In 2002 he married the daughter of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. It was Pinchuk's second marriage.

In 2004, the President of Ukraine - and Pinchuk's father-in-law - privatized Ukraine's largest steel manufacturer, Kryvorishstal. And, this was the coup, sold it to Pinchuk's company "Interpipe" for 800 million dollars - which corresponded to about a sixth of the actual value. Pinchuk thus had the monopoly over the manufacture of steel pipes used in the construction of pipelines. A large customer was Gazprom.

Already in the year of the coup, 2004, Pinchuk was on the list of the richest Ukrainian citizens.

The interlocking of personal economic and political interests is not only evident in the coup between father-in-law and son. Pinchuk was even politically active himself from 1998 to 2006 as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament.

To this end, Pinchuk initially teamed up with other oligarchs such as Yulia Tymoshenko, Serhiy Tihipko and Ihor Kolomoisky in order to coordinate their interests in increasing power and financial wealth.

After 2006, Pinchuk retired from Ukrainian politics, but remained politically active, forging links with politicians and businesspeople in the United States and other western countries. He was also committed to Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

The "EastOne Group" is an association of about 20 companies owned by Pinchuk. This includes television stations and publishing houses.

Through his connections in the West, his companies and his foundation, Pinchuk influences international politics. It is primarily through his wealth and contributions to the global foundation system that he puts his own interests and those of his allies first.

For example, during Hilary Clinton's tenure as US Secretary of State, Pinchuk donated several million US dollars to Clinton's foundation, which, according to insiders, gave him access to the US steel market.

Pinchuk's case clearly shows that money, personal interests and politics are often closely intertwined. Among other things, Pinchuk provided financial support for the Maidan protests in the winter of 2013/14. Pinchuk was pursuing a course aimed at joining the European Union, although critics say he was pursuing his own interests in doing so. Among other things, it may have been his goal to outdo his rival Rinat Akhmetov.

It remains to be seen what influence Pinchuk will have on the tank issue regarding the delivery of the Leopard 2 battle tanks from Germany to Ukraine. In any case, it is advisable to take a critical look at the activities of Pinchuk and oligarchs in general - because it is not uncommon for their own interests to be hidden under the camouflage of generosity.