The WA-headquartered Minderoo Foundation, founded by the billionaire Forrest family in 2001, has now given $25 million to aid the Ukrainian people and support the country’s fight for sovereignty against Russia.
Three years after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Minderoo co-founders Dr Andrew Forrest and Nicola Forrest have provided a further $5 million in funding to the country – bringing Minderoo’s total contribution to $25 million.
“The invasion of one country by another is wholly offensive to civilisation. Ukraine has every right to protect its borders, and the international community will be extremely shortsighted if it does not stand with Ukraine,” says Dr Forrest.
The $5 million in funds will be used to further work to demine agricultural areas, enhance food and energy security, and protect Ukrainian children, with a particular focus on the regions of Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Odessa in the country’s east.
“Demining is a humanitarian and economic imperative. Recovery, growth and global food security depends on it,” says Nicola Forrest. “Minderoo will scale our demining support to release contaminated land for agricultural productivity, focusing on women-headed families left widowed in frontline communities, and make schools safe for children to return to.”
The organisation states that 25 per cent of Ukraine’s agricultural land is occupied by landmines, costing the Ukrainian economy $17 billion annually.
“We will work with agricultural communities to support long-term resiliency in their agricultural practices and lay the foundations for a Ukraine-led economic recovery,” says Forrest.
Minderoo is also calling on international governments to support the country, during a time when President Trump is vocalising his support for Russia.
“While philanthropy can play a crucial role, governments across Europe should redouble their efforts to make Russian assets and elite interests pay for the war of aggression they have waged on Ukraine,” says Dr Forrest.
“President Zelensky is the democratically elected leader of his people and a man of great character and resilience. As I have told the President before, we unequivocally support Ukraine to recover from this atrocious war on the terms acceptable to him and his people.”
Minderoo is unequivocal in its rebuke of Russia, noting that the ‘war has been defined by repeated, sustained and egregious breaches of international law.’
“Looking forward, Ukraine has the capability to draw on her deep pools of talent, vast natural resources and remarkable resilience to drive a powerful economic recovery. I look forward to working with President Zelensky and his team to recover Ukraine’s peaceful growth,” says Dr Forrest.
Minderoo-funded recovery efforts include:
- The de-mining of vital agricultural areas in Mykolaiv and Kharkiv with a AUD$5 million contribution.
- Working with the UN World Food Programme to charter a bulk carrier with nearly to deliver 23,000 metric tons of wheat to the Horn of Africa.
- Establishing grain storage solutions for over 1,600 farmers with AUD$4.57 million to secure 4 Mt of grain.
- Supplying 169 generators worth AUD$3.2 million to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service for the ‘Points of Invincibility’ project.
- Partnering with the Olena Zelenskay Foundation to construct homes for displaced families with A$1.67 million.
