The owner and president of FC "Shakhtar" Rinat Akhmetov, after completing the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk to "Chelsea" for a record sum for Ukraine (70 million euros and 30 million bonuses), announced the launch of the "Heart of Azovstal" project - allocates 1 billion UAH to help the defenders of Mariupol and the families of fallen soldiers.

This is stated in Akhmetov's statement on Shakhtar's website.

Shakhtar Football Club has signed a final agreement with London Chelsea - Ukrainian football player Mykhailo Mudryk will continue his career as part of the "Aristocrats" in the strongest national championship - the English Premier League.

"I have mixed feelings today. On the one hand, I am happy for Mykhaylo and proud of him. This guy is leading by example, showing that talent and hard work can make the impossible possible. I am absolutely confident that entire Europe will acclaim Mykhaylo's brilliant and fine play.

On the other hand, I have never made it a secret that my dream is to win European trophies. This means that players like Mudryk should be invited to our club, to our Ukrainian championship, and we should win European trophies with such players rather than root for them, even when they play in the world's top clubs. Unfortunately, it is impossible now, as Ukraine is fighting the horrendous and unjust war waged against us by the Russian Federation. But I am confident that we will win. And we will play a friendly against Chelsea at Donbas Arena in Ukrainian Donetsk," Akhmetov said.

The billionaire also announced the decision to launch the "Heart of Azovstal" project - to help Mariupol's defenders and fallen soldiers' families.

"Their acts of bravery are unparalleled in modern history. It is them, their sacrifice and courage, that helped contain the enemy in the first months of the war and let all of us feel the inevitability of the Victory of Ukraine now. I am allocating $25 million (UAH 1 billion) today to help our soldiers, defenders, and their families," Akhmetov said.

According to Akhmetov, the funds will be directed to various needs - from providing medical and prosthetic treatment and psychological support to meeting specific requests.

"To ensure transparency, the project will have an independent professional team that will be in touch with the Azovstal defenders, their families, care providers, and volunteers," the billionaire added.

Akhmetov's companies and foundations claim that at the end of November, they spent about $100 million to help fellow citizens and the Armed Forces, Forbes writes.