Ukrainian CEO featured in Forbes stayed behind in Kharkiv to help rescuers

Vsevolod Kozhemyako, the CEO of agricultural group Agrotrade, had been ranked among the 100 richest people in Ukraine in 2020. (Image credit: Screengrab from video posted on Instagram by Vsevolod Kozhemyako)

A Ukrainian businessman, ranked among the wealthiest people in the country, is helping those engaged in defending Kharkiv, his native city, against the Russians.

Vsevolod Kozhemyaka chose to stay in Kharkiv while other wealthy businessmen like him left the country, according to a tweet from Katerina Sergatskova, the editor of Kyiv-based media outlet Zaborona media.

Ukrainian businessman from the Forbes UA top100, Vsevolod Kozhemyaka, stays in his native Kharkiv city and helps local defenders and rescuers. Most of the businessmen of his level left Ukraine just before #RussianInvasion. pic.twitter.com/eST44Dn3S2

— katerina sergatskova (@KSergatskova) March 17, 2022

Kozhemyaka, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Agrotrade Group, which comprises 17 agricultural enterprises, was on the 88^th spot in Forbes magazine’s list of the 100 richest people in Ukraine in 2020.

"He plays golf, tennis, skis and motorcycles, runs marathons, raises four daughters, heads the Ukraine XXI Charitable Foundation and manages an agricultural holding with a land bank of 70,500 hectares in four oblasts and a staff of about 1,500 people," Forbes had said in a note accompanying the ranking.

The CEO has been posting updates on Instagram from the besieged city of Kharkiv, a contrast from his earlier photos from scenic holidays and concerts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vsevolod Kozhemyako (@sevakozhemyako)

Kozhemyaka's latest post showed him standing in front of ruined buildings in Kharkiv with frontline workers.

Thousands of civilians are reported to have died as a result of Russia's war on Ukraine. Over 31 lakh have fled to neighbouring countries.

Ukrainian cities have been left in ruins because of incessant bombing and shelling. Kharkiv and Mariupol are among the worst-hit places.

On Thursday, Russian forces attacked a school in Merefa town outside Kharkiv, killing 21 people and injuring 25, news agency AFP reported.

In Mariupol, 80 percent houses have been destroyed by the attacks. Nearly 30,000 people have left the city.