Press
Ukraine lacks everything. An NGO is raising funds by selling messages on bullets. And so a wedding anniversary gift might reach Russian conscripts.
Kiev – Lack of ammunition and equipment have been the biggest military problems for the defenders of the attacked country since Russia’s complete Ukraine began. The Ukrainian NGO “Center of Assistance to the Army” has found a new source of money to pay for equipment for Ukrainian soldiers in the war against the army of Russian President Vladimir Putin: The NGO sells messages written by Ukrainian soldiers on artillery shells or rockets for four to five-figure sums via a website.
Ukrainian IT student organizes fundraising in the war against Russia
Since the beginning of the Ukraine war in February 2024, people who want to support Ukraine have been able to donate with the click of a mouse, through various initiatives, including for the army. The labeled projectiles therefore only add a bang, literally. A bang that potentially kills Russian soldiers who are waging a war of aggression.
The initiative claims to have already raised 1.8 million US dollars. The donation target, according to the initiative, is two million US dollars. According to co-founder Anton Sokolenko, most donations come from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Canada and Switzerland. The computer science student told the US daily newspaper WashingtonPost.
The idea for a fundraising campaign with messages on Ukrainian missiles arose out of necessity
The idea, Sokolenko told the Polish television station TVPwas born out of necessity. “We ran out of donations,” said Sokolenko. He got the idea from Ukrainian soldiers who wrote messages to their Russian enemies on their projectiles. The money was used to buy military equipment other than weapons for the army. The prices for the projectiles range from 30 US dollars for a message on a mortar shell to 20,000 US dollars for a message on a MiG-29 fighter plane. Common messages are “Love from NATO” or “What do you think about partial mobilization?”, said Sokolenko.
Texan gives his wife a grenade from the Ukraine war for their wedding anniversary
But some, apparently mainly men, also expressed their feelings by writing on an artillery shell. WashingtonPost about a Texan working in the IT industry who had his wife inscribed with the words “C. & Y. Since 2021” on an artillery shell for their three-year wedding anniversary. The man had already donated $3,000 in this way. His wife could “hardly stand to hear” him talk to her about the war, he said. Nevertheless, she “loved” the wedding anniversary gift, which could potentially lead to a position for conscript teenagers. (kb)
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