Solutions to win: five war veterans conquer Ukraine’s highest mountain to raise over $150,000 for their comrades

Five war veterans from various Ukrainian cities conquered the highest mountain Hoverla, and collected over $150,000 for the needs of their comrades.

All hikers were injured in battles and reached the height while having leg prostheses, says one of the hikers Oleksandr Shvetsov.

What is the problem?

After the all-out war started last year, the total amount of donations to Ukrainian forces and humanitarian initiatives has reached over $2 billion. However, volunteers say closing the soldiers' requests is becoming increasingly difficult.

According to a survey by the Postmen communication agency, Ukrainians today donate an average of $40 per month to Ukrainian forces, which is half as much as a year ago.

However, the requests of Ukraine's army have not decreased, so any donation to support the army is necessary and brings victory closer. A creative approach to the organization of collection can be something that will help to collect the necessary amount faster and more efficiently.

What is the solution?

As Shvetsov says, the hiking trip is the veterans' idea. Its main goal was to raise 10 million hryvnias for the needs of the brigades in which they fought.

How does it work?

As the participant explains, veterans carried 10 kg of sand in addition to military equipment. With each collected million, they dropped a kilogram. Two guides also accompanied them.

When we went to Hoverla, everyone had another 5 kilos. On the top, we threw it all off. We have a video, everything was legit, Shvetsov emphasized.

Along the Carpathian route, five men wanted to motivate other fighters who were injured in the war.

With this hiking tour, we wanted to show the guys and girls with such injuries that everything is possible, that we can overcome distances even greater than healthy people. It was motivation for the future, psychological rehabilitation, says Oleksandr.

The veteran previously organized a hiking trip from Odessa to the Carpathians, where he raised almost $8,000 to help his comrades.

Another participant in the charity hiking is Denys Sherengovsky from Cherkasy, who fought in 2014 and 2022. He was injured in 2022 in the Donetsk region and attended a prosthetics center in Kyiv.

I am very pleased with this journey. I have a lot of strength for this time, it is very motivating. And in fact, I want it to motivate other injured guys who do not understand what will happen next.

After the injury, I also did not understand what I could, what I could not. The first step is to take yourself in hands and just do it. We will win for sure, says the veteran.

Veteran Denys SherengovskyVeterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war Oleksandr Shvetsov, Eugenii Smaga, Oleksii Burlakov, Denys Sherengovsky, and Anatolii Kirda went on a campaign.