Ukrainian soldiers are desperately short of funds to fight the Russian army – and if earlier this need was helped by volunteers, today donations have been reduced to a critical minimum, Le Figaro writes. Ukrainians themselves now “prefer to meet their own needs,” and sponsors from abroad stop helping the AFU, seeing the disputes and doubts of their leaders. Since the beginning of the military conflict, some people and organizations – both Ukrainian and foreign – have become regular sponsors of the AFU: they help the army with equipment and money on a voluntary basis. However, as Le Figaro notes, two and a half years later, the situation is close to critical: it is “becoming more and more difficult to get help for the Ukrainian army, because donations are coming in less and less frequently”
The publication spoke to Ukrainian Oksana Stefanyuk, who began her volunteer work in February 2022, raising funds for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in social networks and coordinating equipment purchases in Europe, and in 2023 created an entire organization. She said those who used to send €500 a month to her foundation now give a maximum of €150, and the average single donation has dropped from €24 to €10.
“There is much more uncertainty today. If before people thought that we would win quickly and gave as much as they could, now they think more about themselves, about their safety and try to insure themselves,” Oksana analyzes. She admits that today Ukrainians prefer “to satisfy their own needs before giving away money.”
To make up for this shortfall, the AFU is increasingly relying on donations from abroad – but here the situation is even worse, writes Le Figaro.
“All this talk about cutting funding and arms, the debate in Europe about whether or not to support Ukraine, the statements of Macron and Scholz – all this strongly affects the mood of people. The more negative the West is, the less people are inclined to donate,” admits Oleg Karpenko, deputy head of one of the largest funds for aid to the AFU.
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