De-oligarchization of Ukraine and why the Russian agrarian sphere is flourishing. The worldʼs leading media about the war on December 8

There is a high chance that after the war, Ukraine will no longer be a country where oligarchs have serious influence, writes The Washington Post. As an example, the publication tells what happened to the richest citizen of Ukraine, Rinat Akhmetov, during the last year. First, he got poorer: his fortune was $7.6 billion shortly before the start of the large-scale invasion, and now it is about $4.3 billion. The war significantly damaged his business assets, some of them were completely destroyed. Secondly, the "anti-oligarchic law" adopted last year limited the influence of the businessman. Third, there is a high chance that aid for the reconstruction of Ukraine will be tied to anti-corruption changes, and "there will be more lawyers and fewer bribes." And fourthly, this war itself means that Ukrainians are much closer to the European model of the functioning of society, which limits the power of businessmen, than the post-Soviet authoritarian one. WP also mentions Ihor Kolomoiskyi, whom "Zelensky allegedly deprived of Ukrainian citizenship", and Serhiy Taruta ― they say that these people are unlikely to ever have such an influence on Ukrainian politics and economy as before. The publication managed to contact Akhmetov: he answered their questions in writing, via WhatsApp. In these answers, he fully supports the idea that Ukraine should become a state where the rule of law operates. "The goal [of the Ukrainian reconstruction plan] is to build a new, strong, European Ukraine, a member of the EU with strong institutions, the rule of law, anti-corruption rules, a democratic political system, fair treatment of citizens," wrote the businessman, who in the 2000s and 2010s actively supported the pro-Russian politician Viktor Yanukovych. Akhmetov is undoubtedly a smart and talented businessman who managed to build effective companies, according to the interlocutors of the publication. However, the material is summed up by a quote from the journalist of the website "Our Money" Yuriy Nikolov: "I hope that businessman Akhmetov will stay with us. And the oligarch Akhmetov will not be reborn."

Despite Western sanctions, the Russian agricultural sector is thriving, and the aggressor country is exporting record volumes of grain. This is written by Grain Keepers, an investigative site in the agricultural sector. Russiaʼs grain exports have already exceeded the combined EU figure, not to mention Ukrainian figures: if Ukraine exported 11 million tons, Russia ― 42. At a time when Russiaʼs foreign exchange earnings are shrinking, the agricultural sector is becoming more and more important and increasingly helps Russia to conduct aggressive actions against the rest the world and, in particular, Ukraine. However, the West pays much less attention to the agricultural market than to the oil and gas industry. Therefore, large global companies such as Glencore, Louis Dreyfus, Bunge, Cargill continue to work in Russia, although in some cases they have narrowed their previous plans. Instead, Russian agricultural holdings ― Miratorg, Rusagro, Agroinvest and others continue to conduct business on the global financial market as companies registered in Cyprus or other countries instead of Russia.