Air Reconnaissance Platoon Gets New Wheels With Help From Kyiv Post

When an air reconnaissance platoon of the 17th Separate Tank Brigade needed a new vehicle to support its mission operating drones on the front lines, they reached out to volunteers for some help. Two such volunteers collected funds, found a sport-utility vehicle and arranged for needed maintenance and a military olive-green paint job – and asked for a little help from Kyiv Post.

Today, cars are one of the largest, most useful, and most expendable consumables at the front. The Swiss publication Tages-Anzeiger in its article of June 3 said that to date, at least 20,000 cars with foreign license plates have arrived at the front through the western border of Ukraine.

It’s impossible to calculate the exact number of vehicles that have been sent to the war zone. Since cars are urgently needed and actually just “go to die,” there is often no time to even reissue documents. 

Cars certainly play an important role for frontline troops. Not only do they allow for minimal comfort of the soldiers and for their rapid movement with heavy equipment between operational positions and points of deployment. 

A vehicle affects the quality of combat missions by providing transportation for ammunition, tactical medicine devices and other items that soldiers need daily. 

Additionally, when performing an evacuation role, the cars directly save lives.

In an effort to support Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, Kyiv Post journalist Anna Neplii is engaged in volunteering – specifically, in organizing fundraising for military support items.

Recently, together with a soldier and fellow volunteer, call sign “Khakhol,” Neplii received a request for help in raising funds for a car for the air reconnaissance platoon of the 17th Separate Tank Brigade, which performs combat duties on the Eastern front. Their previous car was destroyed in a rocket attack. 

Unfortunately, society has become inured to the war and is somewhat tired of constant fundraising. Despite there still being many unmet needs, the process of raising donations has slowed down significantly.

The cost of the car, including repairs and camouflage paint, was Hr. 165,000. The Kyiv Post organization significantly helped to raise the funds by adding the final Hr. 50,000 needed. 

So, on June 7, Neplii handed over the keys of the finished vehicle to the aerial recce platoon in the Donetsk region. 

“We are engaged in reconnaissance using the DJI Mavic 3 drone. Our main task is to detect enemy positions and improve and fine-tune artillery fire,” Mykhailo, a sergeant in the Air Reconnaissance platoon of the 17th Separate Tank Brigade, told Kyiv Post.

“After completing combat missions, we must leave our positions and reach the point of permanent deployment. We must also arrive at our positions quickly, so we need a car to quickly complete our operational mission.

“Thanks to this, we will eliminate the invaders, and with them, the danger they pose.”