What people are donating to Ukraine and its refugees: Crypto, ammo, pet food and cash
2022.09.04 04:27
From ordinary citizens to executives of big-name corporations and Hollywood stars, people around the world are pledging millions of dollars to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s invasion, alongside much-needed medical supplies, military equipment and even pet food.
Apart from these donations, international agencies and individual governments have already rolled out aid plans. The World Health Organization has $3.5 million in emergency funding; the U.S. government is hoping to deploy $6.4 billion in emergency aid to the region; and the European Commission signed off on a $100 million aid package.
Netflix co-founder and co-chief executive Reed Hastings on Wednesday announced a $1 million donation to Razom, a Ukrainian nonprofit group that has sought to strengthen democracy in its country. It is now focused on procuring disposable resuscitators, tourniquets and other emergency supplies needed to treat war injuries, according to its website.
Celebrity chef José Andrés delivered flour to a bakery outside Lviv, Ukraine, amid larger efforts by his relief organization, World Central Kitchen, to feed Ukrainian refugees and others inside the war-torn country.
Last month, actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, her husband, donated $1 million to USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit group supporting the United Nations refugee agency. Airbnb said it would host up to 100,000 refugees without charge. Pet stores and a pet food maker in Northern Ireland aim to send 5,000 cans of wet food, according to a local report.
More than $50 million in cryptocurrency had also flowed into Ukraine as of Wednesday, according to Merkle Science, a blockchain analytics firm, in response to the Ukrainian government’s call for crypto donations last month. Private groups helping the Ukrainian military or providing humanitarian assistance had also received several million dollars, the firm said.
Ammo, an arms manufacturer in Arizona, is planning to send ammunition instead of cash. Inspired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s remark that he needed “ammunition, not a ride” out of his country, Richard Childress, one of the company’s board members and a former NASCAR driver, urged Ammo to send bullets to Ukraine’s armed forces, NBC reported.
The company is now seeking to ship 1 million rounds to Ukraine’s beleaguered military, which has been weathering intensifying Russian shelling and missile strikes. “Ammo Inc., and we as Americans stand firmly in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence,” Fred Wagenhals, the company’s chief executive, said in a news release.
Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, is offering $2,000 toward Ukraine relief for each lap led by his four-car stable at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track at a NASCAR event on Sunday, on top of $200,000 to Samaritan’s Purse to support disaster assistance.
In Japan, ordinary citizens gathered $17 million, while Hiroshi Mikitani, the chief of Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten, said he would donate about $8.7 million. In Taiwan, senior government officials have pledged a month’s salary.
In Poland, an optician is offering free eyeglasses. A Milan watch dealer is giving proceeds from an auction of a vintage Russian timepiece, Bloomberg News reported. People in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Egypt are also offering rooms to refugees, according to Host4Ukraine.com, a website linking displaced Ukrainians with those willing to offer a roof.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed.
The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station remain as both sides accuse each other of shelling it.
The weapons: Western supplies of weapons are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike farther behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.
