Oligarchs have lost billions from the shelling of their factories, and the government has used its wartime powers to break their political influence.<\/p>\n
Origin: The New York Times by Constant M\u00e9heut<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For weeks, they fended off Russian assaults, holed up in a vast steel mill under barrages of missiles and mortars. And when the Ukrainian troops defending the Azovstal plant finally surrendered in May 2022, the mill had been reduced to rubble and twisted metal.<\/p>\n The fighting at Azovstal, in the besieged city of Mariupol, was a\u00a0signature moment in the early months of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion<\/a>\u00a0of Ukraine.<\/p>\n It was also a major setback for Ukraine\u2019s richest man, the plant\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n With the destruction of Azovstal, the owner, Rinat Akhmetov, lost an industrial jewel accounting for one-fifth of Ukraine\u2019s steel output \u2014 a multibillion-dollar loss that dealt a severe blow to his longtime grip on the Ukrainian economy.<\/p>\n Mr. Akhmetov\u2019s case underlines how the war, by\u00a0ravaging Ukrainian industry<\/a>, has curbed the power of the country\u2019s so-called oligarchs, tycoons who have long reigned over the economy and used their wealth to buy political influence, experts say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n