Ukrainian army, volunteer groups bolstered by foreign donations

Since Russia launched its all-out war against Ukraine, the Ukrainian military and Ukrainian volunteers have received tens of millions of dollars in private monetary donations.

According to information recently obtained by the Kyiv Post, between February 24 and April 18, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the charity Come Back Alive raised a total of UAH 592 million (around USD 20 million) – UAH 554 million and UAH 18 million, respectively.

Monetary donations to help Ukraine fight off Russian aggression have come in from over 157 countries, with the largest donation amounting to UAH 100,000. Private donations from Ukraine top the list of contributions at USD 17.2 million, followed by Poland with around USD 271,000, the Czech Republic – USD 170,000, and the United States – around USD 160,000. Money has also been wired in from Great Britain, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance, the war with Russia has been costing Kyiv close to USD 10 billion a month. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that military spending varies, but averages about UAH 2 billion a day. 

The country is also taking a daily loss of around USD 4.2 billion due in damage to buildings and infrastructure. While the total bill is expected to rise in the coming months, Shmyhal is confident that Ukraine will be able to rebuild quickly with Western assistance and the use of seized Russian assets.

“We have already received over USD 3 billion to fund the budget and fulfil our responsibilities,” he said, adding that the rest will come after the war has ended. To date, the National Bank of Ukraine, which has opened several accounts, has wired almost UAH 15 billion to the National Guard, the National Police, the Ministry of Defense and the border guards. Although for war-torn Ukraine every penny counts, Ukrainian authorities and volunteers also encourage those wishing to contribute to do so only via trusted sources such as Monobank, Portmone or the official sites of various charity funds like Come Back Alive.