Supporting the war effort with with money and supplies is a growing trend, even among children.
Ten-year old Taras
Krotko from Lviv had Hr 1,300 saved to buy a tablet computer when his priorities significantly shifted.
The boy
brought the money – most of it given to him for his birthday – to the local radio
station Lvivska Hvylya, which was conducting a fundraising campaign for Ukrainian
servicemen involved in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in Ukraine’s east.
Facebook/ Андрій Великий
“We were a bit
confused,” radio anchorman Andriy Velykiy told Lviv newspaper Zakhid.net. “He
came here with this piggy (bank) and said he could live without a (computer) tablet, but a soldier
would die without a bulletproof vest. If soldiers die, there will be no Ukraine,
and if there’s no Ukraine, no tablet or anything else will be needed.”
To clarify what the donation was for, Krotko added a handwritten letter, where he confirmed he wanted “to give this money to buy bulletproof vests for our soldiers.”
Facebook/ Андрій Великий
Children’s gestures
like this often go viral and help raise awareness of the Ukrainian army’s needs, which is severly underfunded. Since the
army began fighting Russia-backed rebels in Ukraine’s east in April the Defense
Ministry has received some Hr 143 million in donations. Body gear tops the list of soldiers’
necessities.
Krotko wasn’t
the only kid to donate money. On Aug. 18 seven-year old Matviy Antymys, also
from Lviv, decided to give Hr 1,448 – consisting of his entire savings – to the
army. The boy gave his savings directly to his father Rostyslav Antymys, who
has been raising money to buy gear and other equipment for the servicemen.
“He watched us
raising donations all the time, and he decided to join. My son is quite greedy
though, so we were shocked he did it. First we thought it was an emotional
decision and gave him some time to think it over,” Rostyslav Antymys told the Kyiv Post.
When the boy
didn’t change his mind two days later, his father accepted the donation. A
Facebook post showing a photo of the boy sitting next to his broken piggy bank
went viral, quickly gaining 550 shares.
Kyiv Post staff writer Iryna Matviyishyn and can be reached [email protected].
