Pakistani Billionaire Buys Fighter Jets for Ukraine, His Famous Wife Says

Pakistani billionaire Mohammad Zahoor has given Ukraine fighter jets to aid in their battle as Russia's invasion of the country continues, according to his wife.

Zahoor's wife, the Ukrainian singer Kamaliya Zahoor (known professionally as simply Kamaliya), said that her husband and other wealthy friends had been quietly helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia, Ukraine's TSN reported on Wednesday.

"[Mohammad] gave me the green light to tell this. Because they hid these [actions]. They gave two fighter jets to Ukraine and help Ukraine," she said during the program Morning with Ukraine. It is not clear when Kamaliya made these comments.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in late February, Zahoor, who used to live in Ukraine and was the former owner of the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post, has been pushing to ensure the safe evacuation of Ukrainian citizens, according to a Khaleej Times report.

The report said that the Karachi-born billionaire had been attempting to mobilize funds and help evacuate refugees to the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. Zahoor has continued to meet with heads of state and other influential people to ensure safe passage for Ukrainians.

He has also called on the people of the world to support and side with Ukraine as it fights back against Russian aggression.

"This is time, actually, for us not to keep quiet. We have to take sides," Zahoor told Arab News in March. "I am openly taking the side of Ukraine because after seeing [reports from] Western, Ukrainian and Russian media, I can see and decide who is telling the truth. This is the time actually for everyone to speak up for Ukraine otherwise every big country is going to swallow its next-door neighbor."

He continued: "I think we are in the worst crisis in the world since the Second World War. We are in the middle of Europe, in fact. If something happens to those nuclear power plants, and Ukraine has got 15 of those...The nuclear power plant which was shelled is six times more powerful than the Chernobyl plant."

"The Russian equipment, I must say, they are not very precise," he added. "So, they're sending 10 rockets in order to get one to the destination."

More recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has tweeted about the importance of international support and the progress made by countries to help Ukraine.

"Finished a long and meaningful phone conversation with [French President]

@EmmanuelMacron," Zelensky tweeted on Tuesday. "Told about the course of hostilities, the operation to rescue the military from Azovstal and the vision of the prospects of the negotiation process. Raised the issue of fuel supply to Ukraine."

Finished a long and meaningful phone conversation with @EmmanuelMacron. Told about the course of hostilities, the operation to rescue the military from Azovstal and the vision of the prospects of the negotiation process. Raised the issue of fuel supply to Ukraine. (1/2) — Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 17, 2022

Zelensky continued in a second tweet: "We also discussed defense support from France, preparation of the 6th package of sanctions, possible ways to export Ukrainian agricultural products. Held a substantive discussion of our application for the status of a candidate for EU membership."

Newsweek reached out to the Pakistani government and Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.