29 June 2014

As a consequence of the ongoing violence in the East, and Ukraine's dire economic situation (a government bankrupted after decades of corrupt leadership), the Ukrainian government has no money to fund its military personnel. Volunteers throughout the country have been supporting the Ukrainian military by providing uniforms and bulletproof vests for government soldiers whose army-issue fatigues have fallen apart. 

Villagers have offered food, water and shelter. 

However, last week Ukraine's crowdfunding site The People's Project said that it had received enough donations to fund a drone.

Yes, a drone. 

According to a report in the Guardian, It will be used for reconnaissance in the skies above the rebel Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, and on the border with Russia, the scene of numerous recent shootouts between troops and separatists.

First of all, does it make a difference who purchases the weapon? Is it somehow worse when it is crowd-funded? Or is it worse when it is assumed as part of a government's military arsenal, where arms--and with their hefty price tags--are swept under the euphemistic, assumed-to-be-necessary, Defense Budget?

According to the Guardian: the organisers in Ukraine had originally hoped to buy a state-of-the-art Israeli drone – for $165,000 (£97,000) – or a cheaper American one costing $120,000. In the end, however, they managed to build the drone for just $35,000. A designer and other volunteers built the airframe, with a Ukrainian military institute chipping in technical equipment. Seven volunteers run the website, including a former paratrooper who negotiates with arms dealers. Other volunteers promote the site via Facebook and Twitter. There are daily updates, with breakdowns of how the cash is spent. Donations vary from £1 to £2,500. 

Wouldn't it be interesting to see the same transparency with National Defense budgets and processes of acquiring arms?

In other news:

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has reported that some groups of militants are fleeing the area of the anti-terrorist operation: ' Reasons may include the completion of the ‘contract’ (for mercenary service — Ed.) or fear by the militants that Russia will stop supporting them.' The ministry reported that militants have violated the ceasefire 12 times over the last 24 hours. This includes: militants fired several times at one of the checkpoints near Slovyansk, attacked a military logistics convoy near the town of Nyzhnya Vilkhivka in the Luhansk Oblast, shelled the ATO base at Tarana in the Donetsk Oblast. In the Pryvillya district of the Luhansk Oblast, a road used by a convoy of Ukrainian soldiers transporting humanitarian cargo was abushed. Also during the night, several mortar  attacks occurred on checkpoints near Slovyansk, in the area of the Kramatorsk airfield, and in the town of Biryukove in the Luhansk Oblast.

Information from the ANALYTICAL CENTRE OF  NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE COUNCIL OF UKRAINE (RNBO):

The situation on the border: the Russian Federation has kept military vehicles concentrated at the Ukrainian border with Crimea. According to the State Border Guard Service, the Grad multiple rocket launcher and the S-300 surface-to-air missile system were brought to the checkpoint of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation near the gas distribution station area of Strilkove (Kherson Oblast). A man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD) and a cannon were seen there as well.   

The situation in the settlements of the conflict zone: separatist groups have seized the Donetsk chemical plant. They are planning to start producing hand grenades there. Also, administrative buildings continue to be taken, yesterday the regional unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast was seized. In Luhansk, the gangs took control of the reception and allocation office of the MIA and the oblast office of the “Kyivstar” technical service. Gunmen also captured three bullet proof cash transit vans of Yuzhkombank.

Recruiting gunmen in Russia: The Ukrainian government demands the Russian side to immediately stop supporting the terrorists and considers it essential to shut down the Russian recruitment points and  training camps for mercenaries, to end recruitment of our citizens and to remove subversion groups that were previously brought to Ukraine. The Security Service of Ukraine received and unveiled unquestionable evidence of mercenary and subversion recruitment centers functioning at the territory of Russian Federation with the intention of destabilizing the situation and supporting the terrorists in Ukraine. There is evidence for the existence of training commando units for committing terrorist attacks and subversions, armed attacks at the Ukrainian military servicemen and civilians, particularly in Pskov, Taganrog, Shahta (Rostov Oblast), Molkino (Krasnodar Kray), and Moscow Oblast.

The documented evidence proves that the terrorists are directed to Ukraine from this location after receiving tasks from the Russian coordinators. Social media are used for these purposes in order to publish the contact information. The recruitment of the so-called “volunteers” is done on a paid basis.