Ukrainian activists launch unified platform to donate vehicles to armed forces

The Car For Hero project presented a single platform for supplying transport to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

What is the problem?

Veteran volunteer Oleh Petrenko reports that over 60,000 cars were imported to Ukraine last year for the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces. The average service life of wheeled transport in the war is 2-9 weeks.

"We need to send cars to the front constantly. This is the key to our victory," Petrenko emphasized. "But it is not enough to supply a vehicle to the military. It still needs to be serviced and repaired promptly. It is necessary to check if these cars meet the needs of the military base." 

What is the solution?

Creating a centralized system for supplying and maintaining vehicles as part of a private-public partnership is the most effective solution to providing the Ukrainian armed forces with cars.

How does it work?

People who know from their own experience how important it is for frontline fighters to have reliable off-road vehicles have joined the popularization of the platform. The ambassador of the project has been the well-known Ukrainian film director Akhtem Seitablaev, who went to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the first days of the full-scale invasion.

The head of the project, Oleksandr Puhach, said that the project had arranged the supply of cars from the USA, Europe, and Korea and could provide the armed forces with any transport. 

Now they need pickup trucks. Currently, only the Ford F-250 and Ford F-350 are available. According to him, these are very powerful cars with b-liter diesel engines.

"Any MANPADS or machine gun can be installed on a pickup truck. The carrying capacity of the body of the first model is 1.5-1.8 tons, and the second is up to 2.5 tons. Some vehicles we transferred to the front line have already been fitted with full-fledged anti-aircraft guns weighing 2.2 tons. The vehicle works perfectly and fulfills the task," the project manager emphasized.

Car For Hero has already delivered 19 vehicles as part of the Guardians of the Sky project — mobile anti-aircraft fire groups that protect the sky in the central part of Ukraine and Kyiv with machine guns and MANPADS. Three cars work in the east of Ukraine. Ten more cars are on the way. To implement the program, the organizers plan to hand over 120 vehicles.

Within the platform, any military or civilian can apply for a car. Then the application will be verified by the armed forces, and the fundraising process will begin. Within 30 days after the end of fundraising, the car will be at the front. The project also undertakes operational maintenance of vehicles, repair, and technical inspection.