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| - Ukraine's oligarchs and entrepreneurs have announced donations of vital medical equipment to hospitals as the post-Soviet state battles the coronavirus outbreak. Five cases of the COVID-19 infection have been officially confirmed in Ukraine as of Monday, with one of the patients dying. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with owners and top managers of the largest companies and business groups at his office in central Kiev to seek their help in the fight against the virus. Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov attended, as well as Igor Kolomoisky, who has been mired in a legal battle with Ukrainian authorities over control of the country's largest lender, PrivatBank. "I insist that you should help now," the president told the oligarchs, according to the statement published on his website. "We will not stand aside -- we helped before, we help now and we will help in the future," Akhmetov, owner of Shakhtar Donetsk football club, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency after the meeting. The controversial metals tycoon lost control of dozens of coal mining and metallurgical companies as a result of the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. Akhmetov's foundation has donated four artificial lung ventilation devices to the health ministry as well as hazmat suits, thermometers and face masks. Viktor Pinchuk, one of the country's richest men, has along with his wife donated 10 such devices to hospitals in Kiev and other regions of Ukraine. Nine entrepreneurs have each paid for artificial lung ventilation devices to be bought second-hand in the United States, Oleg Gorokhovsky wrote on Facebook on Monday. He is the founder of Monobank, which operates only on mobile devices. The equipment sourced by Gorokhovsky's business partner and his wife each cost 248,000 hryvnia (about 8,350 euros, $9,325), he said. "We raised the money in an hour! Unbelievable!" Gorokhovsky wrote, adding that the devices would arrive within three weeks. "I am filled with pride for our country and our business community." Nova Poshta, a private mail company, has contributed 25 million hryvnia to buy equipment for hospitals in the city of Poltava and the surrounding region. Volunteers are also raising money for protective equipment and rapid test systems for the armed forces. Some Ukrainians are also taking to social media to raise money. Volodymyr Flonts, head of the non-profit E-Democracy, on his birthday asked social media friends to make him the "best gift ever" and raise money for an artificial lung ventilation device. "It can save dozens of lives," he said, sharing bank details on Facebook. According to the health ministry, there are currently not enough artificial lung ventilation devices for every bed in the intensive care wards of Ukraine's infectious diseases facilities. The country's economy has been hit hard by the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east and is reliant on foreign aid. ant-osh/gd
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