Famous Tycoon DEAD – Explosion Reported!
(UnitedVoice.com) – Millions of people in the Middle East and Africa depend on grain exports from Ukraine and Russia — without them, untold numbers face severe starvation. After Russia invaded its neighbor in February, its navy blocked sea lanes in the Black Sea, creating a worldwide food shortage. Now, there’s some good news for starving countries. On Monday, August 1, a ship carrying 26,000 tons of corn left a Ukrainian port headed for Lebanon. However, with this positive development comes disturbing news regarding one of Ukraine’s former grain tycoons.
Despite the positive development, Moscow may have targeted one of Ukraine’s wealthiest and most prominent businessmen. On Saturday, July 30, a Russian missile struck the home of tycoon Oleksiy Vadaturksy in Mykolaiv. He and his wife died in the direct hit. Now, the government has alleged that Russia targeted him, and some wonder who will pick up the pieces in the war-torn southern areas of the country.
Prominent Grain Exporter Dead
The 74-year-old business titan owned a highly productive agricultural company that stored and exported cereal crops. Mykolaiv is an important city known for its shipbuilding. It sits on a river between Odesa and the Russia-occupied town of Kherson. The Russians have repeatedly hit the city since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych told the BBC the bombardments on Saturday were among the heaviest the city had sustained so far in the war. Vitaliy Kim, a leader in the region, said Vadaturksy’s contribution to agriculture and shipbuilding was invaluable.
Did The Kremlin Target The Businessman?
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a missile hit Vadatursky’s bedroom. He stated there were no questions that it was a purposeful hit by a guided missile, not an incidental or accidental attack on a civilian target.
In recent weeks, Zelenskyy’s administration has accused Moscow of stealing grain from occupied farmlands and exporting the critical commodity through Crimea. In 2014, President Vladimir Putin annexed the peninsula, giving Russia unfettered access to the Black Sea. The Kremlin denies the accusations.
Media in Kyiv said in 2021, Vadatursky had a net worth of approximately $400 million. With the tycoon out of the picture, who will help the emerging agricultural crisis? Officials say about 20 tons of grain stored for export are trapped. President Volodymyr Zelensky said it could climb to 75 million after this year’s harvest. It’s well below the 86 million tons Ukraine normally produces.
As the fourth-largest bushel exporter in the world, the war-torn country ships out 9% of the world’s supply of wheat, 16% of maize, and 42% of its sunflower oil. Egypt, Indonesia, and Bangladesh receive the lion’s share of the supply.
The Kremlin has not commented on Vadatursky’s death.
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