Hundreds of Lithuanians have banded together to buy an advanced military drone for Ukraine in its war against Russia in a show of solidarity with another country from the former Soviet Union.
The €5 million target was raised in just three and a half days, mostly in small amounts between €5 and €100, to finance the purchase of a Byraktar TB2 military drone, according to Laisves TV, the Lithuanian internet broadcaster that launched crowdfunding.
“Before this war started, none of us thought that we would be buying weapons. But now it’s normal. Something must be done to make the world better,” said Agne Belickaite, 32, who sent €100 as soon as the fundraiser was launched on Wednesday.
“I have been donating to buy weapons for Ukraine for a while now. And I will do it until victory,” she told Reuters, adding that she was motivated in part by fears that Russia might attack Lithuania.
The country’s official Twitter account celebrated the milestone on Saturday, which it said was achieved in three days thanks mainly to small donations.
Bayraktar drones are among the most modern and celebrated weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal against Russia. At the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian army published a series of videos showing attacks with these weapons against Russian tank columns that left smoldering remains.
Most shipments of weapons and other military equipment have come directly from governments such as the US, UK and European nations. Ukraine itself also began accepting donations for its armed forces when the war began. The Lithuanian incentive is unusual in that the funds went to a specific team.
Much of the heavy weapons that NATO countries have sent to Ukraine so far are Soviet-made weapons that are still in the inventories of Eastern European NATO member states, but some have recently started supplying howitzers. Westerners.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Lithuania Beshta Petro celebrated the milestone in an interview with Laisves, Reuters news agency reports. “This is the first case in history where ordinary people raise money to buy something like a Bayraktar,” she said. “It’s unprecedented, it’s unbelievable.”
