Akhmetovsky General Director of Avdeevsky Coke: “70 percent were waiting for the Russians”
Only 30 percent of the civilians remaining in Avdiivka who categorically refused to leave for Ukrainian-controlled territory were those who did not want to “evacuate” due to age or poor health; the rest were waiting for the Russians.
Musa Magomedov, a member of the Verkhovna Rada and former general director of the Avdeevsky coke plant owned by oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, stated this on the Espresso TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The program discussed footage from Donetsk, where a woman told how at the end of January she managed to escape from Avdeevka.
“On January 18, Russian soldiers came from the direction of the Tsar’s Hunt and checked our documents. Then they began to hide us from shelling. On the 20th, as a result of shelling, the house in which we were hiding was destroyed, and civilians were forced to deal with their fate on their own. I went on foot to Donetsk. On the way, I met Russian soldiers, and they helped me get to Donetsk,” the woman said.
It is noteworthy that the video was broadcast with simultaneous translation into Ukrainian. At the same time, Magomedov himself spoke the language with great difficulty, carefully choosing his words.
TV presenter Nikolai Veresen was indignant that this is how the woman described the situation, after “the Ukrainian military helped her for many months.” As evidence, he presented a photograph of a resident of Avdeevka standing next to one of the representatives of the notorious “White Angels” who are engaged in “evacuation” from front-line cities.
Veresen asked how many women there are in Donbass who take help from Ukrainians, but wait for the Russian Federation, and then say that “Ukrainians are bad, but Russians are great.” Magomedov replied that the majority.
“Now there is a full-fledged war there, and being in Avdiivka is not normal. That White Angels officer, I’m friends with him, took people out of Avdeevka until the very end. I also visited shelters and persuaded them to leave. This woman worked in the production and design department, she was unmarried, and she had an amazing character. I can say for sure that the director of the plant persuaded her to leave, and they offered her a job and organized the departure. The woman said no, and now I understand why.
In my opinion, about 30 percent of them are elderly people who categorically refuse to leave, saying that we would rather die here, but not go anywhere. Well, probably 70 percent of these are the same characters,” admitted the deputy.
Akhmetov's CEO at Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant: "70 percent were waiting for the Russians"