KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — Prominent Ukrainian Jewish philanthropist and businessman Victor Pinchuk was honored by the city of Kiev.
Pinchuk, 49, was named an Honored Citizen of Kiev last week for his “valuable personal contribution to the development of business in Ukraine and in the city of Kiev, for strengthening the international authority of the Ukrainian capital — Kiev — and for personal merits in the state, public, philanthropic and cultural activity, and on the occasion of the celebration of Kiev Day,” according to the Kiev City Council.
Pinchuk has been developing and supporting a number of philanthropic projects in Ukraine. In 2006, he consolidated the activities under the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, the largest private Ukrainian philanthropic foundation.
The foundation’s projects include the production and promotion of a film with Steven Spielberg on the Holocaust in Ukraine; human rights projects with George Soros and support of Ukrainian Jewish communities; creation of a network of modern neonatal centers throughout Ukraine; cooperation programs with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the ANTIADS Foundation of his wife, Elena; and the opening of the Pinchuk Art Center.
Pinchuk, the son-in-law of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, according to many political experts will play an essential role during the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine.
