Delegates from the European Commission gathered in Rome last month alongside senior government officials, business leaders and civil society representatives to discuss the future of Ukraine, Europe’s war-torn country that has been bravely defending itself amid Russia’s full-scale invasion for more than three years. Augie K. Fabela II, a long-time supporter of Ukraine and Chairman of VEON, one of the largest private sector investors in the country, was among them.
“Having traveled frequently to Ukraine both before and after the Russian invasion, I’ve witnessed firsthand the resilience of Ukrainians: they’re not just fighting for survival, they’re also working to build their country’s future,” Fabela said in an opinion piece, recently published by Milano Finanza.
Back in 2022, Fabela moved fast. After more than a decade of balancing his duties as a business executive and serial tech entrepreneur with serving on the police force with the Chicago Cook County Sheriff, he was able to quickly put together and lead a mission of U.S. police officers to Ukraine. They were assisting local law enforcement organizations and providing humanitarian aid just three weeks after the full-scale invasion began. Fabela also helped support the Samaritan’s Purse – an emergency field hospital set up to treat patients suffering due to the escalating conflict.
Helping Ukraine persevere and recover amid hugely challenging conditions with a view of emerging as a strong and independent nation became an important part of Fabela’s personal and professional mission, spearheaded by VEON, a global digital operator Fabela founded, as well as by the people closest to him.
Outside of the high-flying world of business, politics and investment, Fabela’s son Andrew, is also doing what he can to support Ukraine. With his father’s blessing and just 18 at the time, Andrew was teaching American sports and the ‘tough kid mindset’ to children at the Ukrainian Orphanage Summer Camp in 2022, asking the world to “pray for peace for Ukraine and its kids.’’
That mindset of grit and public service is something that Fabela has learned from his parents, one of whom had immigrated from Mexico and another from Colombia, settling down in the suburbs of Chicago to raise their family. Fabela’s father was an engineer, taking on many different jobs to support the family, and always teaching his children the value of hard work and supporting those in need.
Augie Fabela took those lessons to heart. In fact, it was these deeply held values that helped him forge a close bond with Dr. Dmitri Zimin, his long-time friend and fellow founder when they first met one another in the early 1990s, despite not speaking each other’s language. Together, they launched VimplCom – the predecessor to VEON, the company currently reshaping connectivity and digital services across the world’s fastest-growing emerging and frontier markets.
The story of Fabela and Zimin’s collaboration on VimpelCom – the first company from Post-Soviet Russia to do an IPO on NYSE, valuing the business at over $800 million in 1996 – is closely documented in the award-winning film Connected, which premiered in London, New York, and Los Angeles earlier this year.
Today’s VEON, led by Fabela, continues to work on sustaining communication for tens of millions of Ukrainians amid air raids, power cuts, and cyber attacks, providing a lifeline during extremely difficult conditions. It is also leading private-sector investment into the country.
By December 2024, VEON helped support the installation of over 2,600 generators and 176,000 additional batteries by Kyivstar, Ukraine’s leading digital operator with the country’s largest mobile and fixed-line connectivity businesses that serve nearly 24 million customers. This effort by Kyivstar, part of NASDAQ-listed VEON, improved backup capacity and the network’s energy resilience amid brutal attacks on the country’s electricity grid and other key infrastructure. It kept Ukrainians connected.
“VEON is deeply committed to Ukraine’s future, and to the critical role the private sector and international investments must play in the country’s recovery and reconstruction. It is a privilege to be on the ground in Ukraine at this historically important time,” Fabela said during his visit to Kyiv in February, 2025, when he led the VEON delegation together with CEO Kaan Terzioglu, meeting with the Kyivstar team and government officials on the ground.
Between February 2022 and December 2024, direct damage suffered by Ukraine amounted to $176 billion with recovery and reconstruction needs over the next ten years estimated to surpass $520 billion, according to The World Bank.
“Ukraine has already exceeded all expectations and, despite the war, has accelerated its innovation path. Investing in Ukraine now is not only the right thing to do, but also the smartest choice for business,’’ Fabela said on stage, together with now Prime Minister Yulia Svydyrenko, at the Ukraine Recovery Conference. “Together we can build a better future, turning solidarity into capital for the country’s reconstruction, strengthening the country’s global opportunities.”
