BILD WITH HELPERS AT THE FRONT
"We are the Amazon of the military"
Soldiers in the Donetsk region accept donations from their compatriots in distant Kiev
For a year now, Ukraine has been on the verge of being wiped out by Putin's aggressive empire. Hundreds of thousands have died, 13 million have fled.
The government in Kiev only manages to provide the basic necessities for its troops to continue the fight against Russia's invading army. Where the state gets stuck, courageous Ukrainians step in who have made it their mission to save the country from Putin's troops.
One of them is the politically affine journalist Serhiy Prytula (41). Immediately after the beginning of the war he founded the "Prytula Foundation", a foundation to support the army.
"In eleven months we have collected 100 million euros," said the former TV and radio presenter to BILD. 80 percent of them came from Ukrainian citizens, 20 percent from abroad.
"As a citizen of Ukraine, it is my duty to help the army because I myself cannot carry a weapon," Prytula continued. “But my brothers and my son-in-law are fighting at the front. I use my name to help.”
Anything that can help the army - but is not a weapon
Prytula's foundation now has 100 employees. 70 of them work in Kiev, 20 in Dnipro and the rest directly at the front. Almost half of them work on a voluntary basis.
"We are the Amazon of the military," jokes spokeswoman Maria as she accompanies BILD through the foundation's premises in Kiev.
In fact, the headquarters of the Prytula Foundation is more like a post office than a charitable foundation. Large packages are everywhere, orders are being processed on computers and small packages are being packed.
Anything that can help the army win the war – and is not a weapon – is sent to the front. From tactical first aid kits to drones, communication equipment and night vision devices to armored vehicles.
"We take care of the odds and ends so the government can buy Leopard tanks," Maria said, laughing again.
BILD with helpers at a secret base at the front
The next morning, BILD accompanies a six-vehicle convoy towards the front. Four of the vehicles are jeeps and are scheduled to remain in Donbass. Two others are packed with supplies for the army.
First it goes to a secret base in the city of Dnipro in the south-east of the country. The next day to three equally secret meeting points near the front in the Donetsk region.
"Everything we deliver was specifically requested by our soldiers and checked by us for usefulness and quality," says Maria. This is to ensure that no items are bought from the donations that are of no use at all.
And indeed, within minutes, Ukrainian soldiers with an order list appear at every top-secret meeting point. Lists of transmitters and receivers are compared in no time at all, generators, drones and medical equipment are handed over and the journey then quickly resumes. Because Russia's drones are everywhere, and in the distance the roar of artillery and rocket fire can be heard continuously.
“We will hunt down Russians with these drones,” jokes one of the soldiers at the handover point. "Just watch our videos." The Prytula Foundation does not bring the donated goods directly to the front. Instead, they will be handed over 8 to 15 kilometers west of it.
Asked whether he and his staff are not putting themselves in extreme danger by serving in the army, foundation head Serhiy Prytula told BILD: “We are all targets. Just a little while ago someone died in Kiev. I don't worry about that any more than my compatriots.”
And Prytula leaves no doubt that he knows what his drones and scopes are used for. He doesn't have a problem with that.
The Ukrainian argues: “Russia is waging a total war against us. I saw villages in Kharkiv that were 100 percent destroyed. We are dealing with people without hearts and brains. All they want is to kill us.” That justifies lethal force against the invaders.
Prytula hopes that in the future more donations will come from abroad to support Ukraine's defense struggle. “My message to Europeans is this: you can either sit back and say how horrible this all is. Or you donate to Ukrainian civilians and the Ukrainian army and pressure your governments to support us in the fight for freedom and civilization.”