Ukraine’s richest man enters fray

Mariupol: Rinat Akhmetov, a coal billionaire is the richest man in the  country and may also hold the balance of power in the region’s tensest standoff since the Cold War, the New York Times reported. Two days Mr Akhmetov had deployed his workers from his steel plant to restore order in a region torn by separatist violence. Calm appeared to return on Friday to the centre of this eastern city.

A few blocks away, at the ruins of the city police building where at least seven people died last week, retired steelworker Oleg Krivolapov welcomed Mr Akhmetov’s intervention. “He has his factories, his industries, a lot of money — he could do a lot,” said Mr Krivolapov.