Russia-Ukraine war: how offensive global unity to send weapons to kyiv

At a workshop in western Ukraine, a technician fitted a metal bracket to a drone so that it could carry a grenade, making it a flying object that is sold in hobby shops. a deadly weapon.

Nearby were two American businessmen who came to the workshop with a dozen drones, a small part of what had become the flow of military aid to Ukraine.

But it was not part of state -sponsored arms shipments sent to Ukraine to help the country fight in the east against a more powerful Russian army.

Those drones are part of a multi-million dollar campaign crowdfunding forming million dollars in donationsas well as large numbers of small arms and other military equipment for the Ukrainian army.

To boost donations, Ukrainian officials and private companies are making direct online appeals to foreign citizens sympathetic to the country, while continuing to pressure governments to give them heavier weapons as well.

One of the American businessmen, Chad Kapper, said he began his journey with a call to a Ukrainian friend with racing drones.

“I said, ‘Hey, what if you need anything? Can we get parts or whatever?'” Recalled Kapper, founder of a drone racing company. “And he was like, ‘Yeah, whatever you can do.'”

For many of the donors involved, this conflict has extraordinary moral clarity.

“We’re wrong about Iraq, just like we’re wrong about Vietnam. We’ve been to places we shouldn’t have been,” said another American businessman who brought the drones, a Tennessee businessman who asked to remain anonymous. for security reasons.

“These people aren’t asking us to go, they’re just asking for our support. The least we can do is support them,” he said.

Unity and military equipment

Although Ukraine receives significant shipments of heavy weapons from the United States and other governments, the online campaign uses widespread sympathy in the West and led to significant donations to the country’s war effort.

Donations include dual purpose items such as drone for hobbyists; military equipment such as night vision goggles; bulletproof vests, rifles and ammunition; and free lobbying services of U.S. companies.

The largest campaign, a social media appeal for donations by the Ukrainian Embassy in Prague, raised nearly $ 30 million from 100,000 donors less than three weeks after its launch and included donations from around the world, according to officials. .

“We call on everyone to financially support the fundraiser aimed at providing immediate assistance in procuring military equipment for the Ukrainian army and the people’s self -defense units,” the embassy said on its Facebook page in February.

The Czech government, which also profits from the sale of its own weapons, said it would quickly approve the purchases.

Another Ukrainian site offers a list of groups asking for donations, including cryptocurrencies, for items such as thermal imaging devices, drones and satellite phones.

In any campaign crowdfundingThere were concerns about fraudsters, and Ukraine had corruption problems before the war.

But so far there have been no reports of wrongdoing in online efforts to get more weapons.

a fighter plane

At the boldest request, a Ukrainian company launched an appeal approved by the government last month to raise donation to buy a fighter plane.

“Buy me a fighter plane. It will help me protect my sky full of Russian planes, ”asked a gray Ukrainian fighter pilot in English.

The website explained that a MiG-29 or Su fighter jet can be purchased from one of several countries for less than $ 20 million on a new one.

“For this reason we are in touch with international companies, entrepreneurs and everyone who can join the initiative,” the website said, happily adding: “Join! Teamwork makes the dream work.”

A company spokesman said a week after the campaign began that they had raised approximately $ 140,000 and acknowledged that the call is addressed to millionaires.

“I think it’s hard to believe that he can buy a fighter jet, that they can use it in a profitable way and get, you know, the right people with the right training,” said Simon Schlegel, senior Ukraine analyst at think Crisis tank rank. .

“I think this is something that is probably more of a marketing gimmick,” he added.

Stephen Flanagan, a senior political scientist at RAND Corp. who has been director of defense policy for the U.S. National Security Agency, said the U.S. public’s involvement in the war has put pressure on the government to do more for Ukraine and “certainly erased some of the initial doubts ”of the US government to provide lethal support to the Ukrainian military.

Although the shipment of arms to Ukraine requires U.S. export licenses, the Commerce Department said in March that it would expedite approvals for the export of arms and ammunition shipped from United States.

drone for hobbyists

Donations of dual -purpose objects, such as hobby drones, face several hurdles.

“For drone enthusiasts to do anything with military hardware is nearly impossible,” said Kapper, founder of Rotor Riot and a celebrity in the world of international racing drones. “Novice things are in a sense not controlled, so they can use whatever they can get.”

Kapper’s hobby drones – known as First Person View for photos sent live to the pilot’s goggles – are in the opposite extreme from fighter jets.

But they appear to be filling a vacancy as Ukraine awaits more supplies of military-grade drones.

“They call me from different points, from different battalions and say ‘can you send more? We’re not here anymore,'” said a Ukrainian drone operator who asked to be identified. only in his middle name, Oleksandr. For security, he asked not to specify the location of the drone center.

Oleksandr said the drones brought in by the Americans would be used to transport explosives and keep an eye on Russian fighter units in the foreground.

The story of the war of a weaker country resisting a powerful aggressor and the specter of genocide in Europe resonated with Americans and around the world.

“After I sent money, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough,” the Tennessee businessman said.

“I have the resources and I have contacts in this part of the world. And I know I can make a difference by putting in some things to help with the drone supply,” he explains.

The businessman, who said the Ukrainian military had contacted him for help, explained that he was creating a charity so that people can make donations to buy drones for Ukraine. Despite later changes to drones, he considered drone donations to be for “humanitarian purposes.”

“Nothing is illegal,” he said. “They demanded drones. What they’re doing to them is their business.”

In addition to carrying grenades, drones, reaching speeds of more than 110 kilometers per hour, are used by Ukrainian forces for forward observation of Russian units, artillery targeting and search for targets. people in damaged buildings or forests using infrared cameras.

Many of the hobby drones, which cost $ 1,000 or more, are short -lived.

“The enemy shoots them, so some only live a day or two,” Oleksandr said. “But in a day or two they have important missions. We are protecting ourselves. We will not cross the border into Russian territory: we are in our homeland.”

the resistance of Ukraine

In 2014, Ukrainian civilians responded to Russia’s invasion of Crimea by mobilizing to support an inadequate and unprepared army, laying the foundation for many of this war’s major efforts.

“It’s amazing how much of this advocacy effort is rooted in civil society,” Crisis Group’s Schlegel said. “There are small networks of people who can buy almost everything except heavy weapons.”

Schlegel noted that videos coming from the front lines and the proliferation of social media sites that use open source intelligence to analyze the dynamics of the battle have also boosted public participation in the battle.

“Social media is very close to the front lines, closer than most historical wars,” he said.

“It was the biggest war on earth in the lives of many people and for many it was the first time they had seen tanks operating on that scale.”

Source: The New York Times

Translation: Elisa Carnelli

CB