The Ukrainian military sells equipment collected by volunteers for the needs of the army via the Internet.
The uniforms that the Ukrainians chipped in for are being put up for sale by the military. Some admit: these are the things that were given to them by volunteers.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
Vesti writes about this .
Dozens of advertisements for the sale of scarce military helmets and body armor have appeared on the Internet. Their authors say that they are selling things they don’t need, and volunteers claim that they have more than once caught ATO soldiers trying to sell uniforms or first aid kits that they brought.
“I’m selling a Kevlar helmet and class 4 body armor. Not used in battle. All - 6500 hryvnia. Urgently! Bargain!" - it is written in one of the advertisements. Over the phone, its author said that the helmet and body armor were given to him by ATO soldiers, for whom he repaired cars.
“I didn’t take money from them, and they said they wanted to thank me. They brought these things, but I don’t need them, that’s why I’m selling them,” says Vadim, the author of the ad.
Another number (in the ad it was written that a helmet was being sold for 1500 UAH) said that the sale was being carried out by a demobilized soldier. “I don’t really know, my brother sells the helmet. He can't find a job and he needs at least some money. He wore it, but a little before demobilization, and it is in excellent condition,” says the author of the ad.
Alexander from Kharkov sells an army first aid kit. Along with the photo, there is a complete list of contents and the price - 1600 UAH. “This is my first aid kit, I am an active serviceman, I just don’t need it anymore. At one time, volunteers brought the first aid kit. A friend of mine has one from the same batch, and he was also going to sell it. I can talk to him,” says Alexander.
Volunteers are aware of the massive sale of uniforms and first aid kits by fighters. “We need to look into each specific case. If a fighter bought his own uniform and first aid kit (and there are many such cases, especially among those who went to fight at the very beginning), then there is nothing wrong with the sale. Moreover, often these are people from villages who gave their last money for these things, and now they need them,” volunteer Ivan Zvyagin told us.
He has a negative attitude toward selling items brought by volunteers. "It's simply disgusting, but unfortunately, such cases are not isolated. For example, we recently caught a soldier who was selling volunteer first aid kits. Naturally, he can't be held criminally responsible, so we try to appeal to his conscience by spreading this information on Facebook," says Zvyagin.
He says that volunteers try to protect the things they bring as much as possible from theft: “It’s easier to do this with large things. Thermal imagers are engraved and balanced. You can’t sell them that easily, but with helmets and body armor, of course, it’s more difficult.”
Ukrainian military sells equipment collected by volunteers for the army's needs online.