UK and US alliance is key to Ukraine, says the founder of Urklandfarming Oleg Bakhmatyuk

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As the Russian invasion of Ukraine completes two years, the United States and the United Kingdom have been discussing their role in the conflict by planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years. According to Britain’s Daily Telegraph, warheads three times stronger than the bomb used in Hiroshima will be located in Suffolk.

Such pressing news comes as decisive for Oleg Bakhmatyuk, founder and CEO of Urklandfarming, a group of major agricultural companies in Ukraine and globally. Though he believes the war will not end this year, it is expected that 2024 will mark a significant strengthening of Ukrainian defenses as new technology is implemented. For the entrepreneur, this will give the country an advantage on the battlefield.

The United Kingdom has shown support to the Ukrainian government with €3 billion in 2024 alone, an addition that Bakhmatyuk sees not only as extremely important but critical for Ukraine. Such investment not only affects the budget of the country but also stresses that Britain is still a consistent ally. “We are talking about a certain framework of security guarantees, a certain formalization of such intentions to support Ukraine”, he explains. “This is extremely important in itself, and it is a serious signal to other allies and partners.”

The prospect is similar when it comes to the United States too. As 2024 marks the year of a presidential election and Donald Trump starts rallying for his comeback, the founder of Urklandfarmingbelieves that Ukrainian diplomacy will be key. For him, this is not so much of a challenge, as the country has been showing effectiveness and productivity in this area for the past years. “But again, the president’s primary role is to execute the will of the voters and American voters are clearly on the side of global stability and security, which means they are on the side of Ukraine”, he claims.

However, when it comes to Ukraine’s presidential elections, which should also be held this year, Bakhmatyuksays it is “inappropriate” to pursue that as there are security issues and several territories that are still under Russian control. “There is also the issue of domestic political stability, after all, every presidential election in Ukraine has been held in an atmosphere of fierce competition and high emotional intensity”, he says. “So, the choice is simple: either we continue fighting to bring victory closer, or we focus on elections. I believe that, in such circumstances, elections can wait.”

Despite all the losses coming from the war and as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the entrepreneur believes Ukraine is doing well: “Ukraine has not only survived but also seen economic growth that exceeds even optimistic forecasts.”

This happened in part because the country has restored its grain export capabilities by creating a “grain corridor” in the Black Sea, despite Russia’s interventions. “This has greatly strengthened us and it is primarily due to the Ukrainian defense forces and the Ukrainian agricultural sector, which is not the first time becoming the basis for the stability of the Ukrainian economy”, explains the CEO of Urklandfarming.

As for Urklandfarming, the group has suffered significant losses, so the key mission in 2024 is to survive, preserve and, if possible, recover lost farmland that amounts to up to 35 of their original holdings. But for Oleg Bakhmatyuk, this is about the present; the future also holds the prospect of not only maintaining but strengthening the company’s position as a grain supplier to the global market.

“In the future, Ukraine can not only retain its position as a major agricultural producer but also strengthen its presence and influence on global food markets.”

As a final remark, Bakhmatyuk argues that the easiest thing for big businesses to do in a situation like this is “to wrap up everything and leave Ukraine”. But for those who think not only about immediate profits but also about what will happen to the country in the coming decades, there is only one option: “to withstand this blow together with the whole country, to survive, recover, and develop further in the future.” And this is what Urklandfarming has been doing by using their experience, knowledge, technology, and capabilities to participate in this process.

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