Solutions to win: Ukrainian Railways will donate proceeds from selling tea on trains to buy drones for millitary

The Ukrainian Railways, the Army of Drones governmental project, and Gemini tea manufacturer have launched a tea collection, part of the sale of which will be used to purchase FPV drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, says the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

What is the problem?

Currently, Ukraine does not cover even 10% of the needs of the front in unmanned aerial vehicles, so when equipment is not used, people are employed for intelligence to fulfill the tasks that drones can do without risking the soldiers' lives, Rubryka reports.

The UNITED24 fundraising platform, together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Information, started collecting for the Army of Drones a year ago, in July 2022. This program includes the systematic purchase of drones, their repair and operational replacement, and a pilot training course.

During the seven months of the project, at the military's request, almost 1,600 drones were contracted for 3.3 billion hryvnias.

What is the solution?

This time, the project is joined by the Ukrainian Railways. From July 5, passengers of Ukrainian trains will donate funds for drones for the Armed Forces by buying tea.

How does it work?

From now on, passengers can purchase "combat" tea (strong, with bergamot) and "reconnaissance" tea with Crimean herbs, "with the aroma of the Black Sea wind."

Drinks can be bought online in the app, chatbot, Ukrzaliznytsia website, or the train (except for Intercity+ trains).

The price of tea is 20 hryvnias. From the sale of each bag, 5.5 hryvnias will be sent to the account of the UNITED24 fundraising platform. The funds will be transferred to purchase Hrim drones, which "will allow the military to find and strike the occupiers even where they do not plan to be found." The Sea Battle game was also placed on the back of the tea bags. You can follow the progress of the project here.

In December 2022, the Ukrainian Railways Ukrzaliznytsia returned "railway" teacup holders to trains. On the cup holders, it placed the inscriptions Iron Bravery and Ukraine. The basic tea in the trains was replaced with a higher quality one without changing the price. A selection of premium teas and capsule and drip coffee have been added to the menu.

Background

As reported, for more than 11 months of the existence of the Army of Drones project, 3,864 UAV complexes were acquired at the expense of United24. The sum of concluded contracts is more than UAH 4.3 billion. Training centers for UAV operators have taught 10,000 soldiers to operate drones.

This week, the military units supplied by the Army of Drones destroyed 75 units of Russian equipment, including nine tanks.