Solutions to win: veterans with prostheses raise ₴10 mln for Ukraine’s armed forces through Carpathian hike

Five veterans with prostheses went on a hike through the Black Mountain Range and, having covered more than 30 km and conquered Hoverla, collected 10 million hryvnias for the needs of the military.

Oleksandr Shvetsov, a veteran from Zhytomyr, announced this on Facebook.

What is the problem?

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the total amount of donations for the needs of Ukraine's armed forces and in support of humanitarian initiatives has reached almost 100 billion hryvnias.

However, volunteers say that closing fundraisers is becoming more and more challenging.

According to a survey by the Postmen communication agency, today, Ukrainians donate an average of 1,525 hryvnias per month to Ukraine's armed forces, which is half as much as a year ago.

However, the demands of our military have not lessened, making any contributions to assist our troops essential and aiding in our path to victory. Employing an innovative strategy for gathering donations could be the key to achieving our goal more expeditiously and effectively.

What is the solution?

As Shvetsov said, the hike was the idea of the veterans themselves. Its main goal was to collect UAH 10 million for the needs of the brigades where they fought.

How does it work?

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

"When we went to Hoverla, everyone still had 5 kg. We dumped it all at Hoverla. We have a video; everything was fair," Shvetsov emphasizes.

In addition, along the route through the Carpathians, the men wanted to motivate other soldiers who were wounded in the war.

"Ukrainians, thank you. Thanks to you, the peak of 10 million has been overcome," Shvetsov wrote.

As the veteran noted, for the collected funds, the five units in which the veterans served will receive:

• cars,
• optical devices,
• means of communication.

For reference:

On September 2, 2023, Serhiy Prytula announced the hike of five prosthetic veterans through the Carpathians on his Facebook page.

The veterans turned to the Serhiy Prytula fund to buy everything they needed for the amount they collected for their comrades from the 30^th Separate Mechanized Brigade, 95^th Air Assault Brigade, 1st Tank Brigade, Luhansk and Kramatorsk border detachments. The Serhiy Prytula Charitable Fund will use these funds to purchase and deliver the necessary equipment to them.

Rubryka wrote that a veteran development center was recently opened at the Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University. Therefore, military personnel who have been demobilized will be able to get an education here and master one of the new professions.

In addition, Rubryka wrote that the " Lisova Poliana" ["Forest Glade" – ed.] is a place where the Ukrainian defenders are helped to restore mental balance after the trauma of war. Virtual reality, neurofeedback techniques, and several new psychotherapeutic approaches for Ukraine are used here. How it works, read more in Rubryka's material: "Neurofeedback, no IVs and a lot of peace: rehabilitation center Lisova Polyana works to treat war trauma."