You're reading: Washington Times: Russian groups raise cash for ‘combat-ready’ units in Ukraine

Washington Times: Russian groups raise cash for ‘combat-ready’ units in Ukraine

By Washington Times.

Published June 11, 2015 at 4:09 pm

Pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic sit atop a self-propelled gun during the Victory Day parade in Donetsk on May 9, 2015.

Photo by AFP

Crowdfunding technology making news in the U.S. over gay wedding cake controversies is being used for a very different purpose in Russia: war.

Russian groups are using private payment systems to help bankroll separatists in eastern Ukraine. Some, such as The Novorossiya Humanitarian Battalion, openly state a desire to produce “modern, combat-ready” military units, The New York Times reported on June 11.