“You give us confidence and strength to continue the fight”: AFU commander visits Rivne volunteers

The Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev, visited and thanked the members of the Ruievyt charity foundation, who've been helping Ukrainian military bases and units performing combat missions in Ukraine's north and east for nine years in a row.

The command of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on Facebook that Naiev visited the headquarters of the Ruievyt Foundation in Rivne, a Ukrainian city in the northwest.

"We bow down to you for your great, vital round-the-clock work, for your efforts to do everything necessary to bring our victory closer. You give us confidence and strength to continue the fight against the enemy," the Joint Forces commander stressed.

According to him, the camouflage kits made by the foundation's members will benefit Ukrainian soldiers while performing assigned tasks and save more than one soldier's life.

"It is essential that we are together now, defending our independence. When we defeat the enemy, we will recover and rebuild our Ukraine together so that it blossoms and becomes even better than before the war," Naiev emphasized.

Volodymyr Shyshkin, head of the Ruievyt Foundation, who manages the "women's battalion" that makes camouflage nets, sincerely thanked the commander for highly evaluating volunteer activities.

"It is easy to manage motivated, hardworking, empathetic women. I live by it. Without this activity, my life would be incomplete," said the head of the foundation.

According to Shyshkin, on February 24, 2022, when Russia started its invasion, 30 people gathered and "started to think what to do." The regional council provided the volunteers with a room during the hostilities, which they equipped according to their needs.

"All their lives are now here — they work for the victory, sometimes even as families — because the lives of the Ukrainian defenders, to whom they convey their congratulations, depend on it now to a large extent," Shyshkin said.

Reference

The Ruievyt charitable foundation was created at the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation in 2014 when Russia began its aggression. About 200 people from the Rivne region work in various directions, identifying the actual needs of service members and actively communicating with them. They weave camouflage nets, prepare bunker candles, and collect funds to purchase necessary equipment for service members, particularly unmanned aerial vehicles, night vision devices, etc. Other public organizations are actively involved in their activities.