As the military threat from Russia becomes already palpable, attempts are being made to strengthen Ukraine’s military forces given Ukraine's poor economic condition.
A special Ukrainian Military Crisis Fund (http://ukrmilcf.org/), an initiative set up by few businesspeople, invites people from all over the world to donate money in order to cover lack of basic supplies in the Ukrainian army. The founders of the fund have already raised tens of thousands of dollars and have set an ambitious goal raising millions of dollars.
The idea for the initiative grew out of friendship between Andy Bain, the president of the Atlantic Group communications holding company and a former Marine, with Ukrainian military from the chemical warfare unit. Together they served in Iraq in 2003.
“My friends in the army said they are short of some supplies. In this case specifically – 30 batteries for the trucks. The unit wasn’t operational without them. So we bought the batteries and gave them to the unit,” Bain recalled.
Based on the extreme poverty in Ukrainian armed forces, on the one hand, and willingness of many people to help them, on the other, Bain teamed with other businesspeople in late March in order to coordinate efforts. By April 3, the fund’s website was launched.
“There are a lot of people who want to give money but who are afraid of the government procurement system. They are afraid that they give money and they just get lost,” Bain says. So transparency became one of the crucial issues for the fundraisers.
This was one of the reasons to making contacts with the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Defense, says Olha Bosak, director of OB Management Consulting, who is volunteering for the project as one of coordinators.
“We want to show accounting, we want the needs to be clearly defined. We want to show that tender procurement procedure is carried out correctly,” says Bosak. She adds that this could also become a good pilot for the Ministry of Economic Development, which is currently working on the legislation in the procurement area.
Much attention is also paid to the establishing direct contacts between donators and manufacturers of military supplies. Bain says he has already experienced support on their part, as he got a discount for his purchase when explained his objectives.
The Ukrainian Military Crisis Fund has already become an international community, as businessmen from different countries donate their money. But many of them wish to stay anonymous. “Some of them have Moscow offices, other – Russian clients,” explains Bain.
As an experienced supporter of the EuroMaidan Revolution, Bain is now ready for long-term engagement with the project. “It will be ongoing project until the threat of attack is gone. I expect, several months, if not longer,” he says. “It seems crazy to live in a country where the military can’t defend the basic security.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Mamchenkova can be reached at [email protected]
