The Czech Republic became the first country where the people themselves bought a tank for the Armed Forces
The Czech Republic became the first country where people purchased for Ukraine a modernized tank T-72 ‘Avenger’, which was given the name Tomas. It happened last week.
The money was collected through the local volunteer initiative ‘Gift for Putin’. More than 11,000 people donated to the tank, collecting 33 million crowns (over $1.3 million). They note that the amount ‘covers the cost of the combat vehicle and its delivery to Ukraine.’
The guarantor of the project is the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, which promised to deliver the tank to its destination – where Ukrainian defenders will be able to use it to destroy the occupiers, wrote the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebijnis.
How ‘Gift for Putin’ came about
After the full-scale invasion of Russia, the Ukrainian embassy in the Czech Republic created a special account for donations for the purchase of weapons for the Armed Forces. At the beginning of April, after seeing footage of the crimes committed by the Russian occupiers in Buch, one of the richest Czech businessmen, Ivo Lukačovych, donated 100 million Czech crowns.
Another Czech businessman, Dalibor Dedek, co-owner of Jablotron, contributed the second largest amount – 50 million crowns. A total of 977 million crowns (about $40 million) from 115,000 donors were transferred to the embassy’s special account.
When donations began to decrease, it occurred to Dalibor Dedek: we should open a fund-raising project, says Martyn Ondracek. ‘He called me, knowing that I was working on an initiative to support the elderly in the Czech Republic, and offered to invent something to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine,’ recalls Ondracek.
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 hurt Dedek’s family, says Martin, the businessman hates the Russian occupiers and it is important to him to support Ukraine in the war.
The idea of a virtual online store ‘A gift for Putin’ came to Ondracek’s mind. ‘I was angry and wanted to call it ‘Bullet for Putin’ at first. But I consulted with friends from the field of marketing, and we decided that there should be an element of humor,’ recalls Martyn.
The project for financial support of the Ukrainian army began in May. It includes three volunteers and Dalibor Dedek (as the author of the idea, gives advice and helps with money).
How the virtual store works
- A person chooses a product that he wants to “buy”. Virtual javelins ($171,131), rifle cartridges ($25), combat first aid kits ($18) are in the highest demand, Ondracek says.
- Then – donate any amount.
- Obviously, the buyer does not receive the selected product. But after donating at least 1,968 crowns, the volunteers offer a T-shirt with the illustrative inscription “Fuck you Putin” as a bonus.
All collected funds go directly to the account of the Ukrainian embassy and are used under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic to purchase equipment for the Ukrainian army.
Since the beginning of the campaign, that is, since May, more than 225 million crowns (almost $10 million) have been collected and sent to Ukraine through “Gift for Putin”. More than 63,000 people donated.
What is bought from this account for the Armed Forces is usually confidential information (the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of Ukraine tell the Ukrainian Embassy in the Czech Republic about urgent needs), Martin explains: “Because no one wants anyone to know what else Ukraine will receive.”
How they decided to collect specifically for weapons
Many people around the world donate to charity accounts related to Ukraine. “But they help to deal with the consequences. We decided to help deal with the cause – it’s war. That’s why it’s a weapon,” Ondracek explains.
How they gathered for Tomas
Having successfully raised funds for Czech drones for the Armed Forces through the project, they began to think: what to do next. Martyn promoted the idea of buying a modernized T-72: “This is a modern tank and an excellent weapon, because the Ukrainian military knows how to operate it. And this is what was physically in the Czech Republic “in the garage”. You don’t have to wait a long time for production.”
The collection lasted a little more than a month. Donations were made to Tomasz from the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Poland.
A total of 33 million kroner was collected, and 11,288 people joined.
They named Tomas for several reasons, Martin explains. The first president of Czechoslovakia, for example, was named Tomas Harrig Masaryk. “At the same time, in addition, there is an element of a joke in the name. Tomas is like, ‘you have what you are doing.’ This is a gift to Putin,” Ondracek explains.
The tank, he says, is still in Prague. When he will go to Ukraine – confidential information: “But inside the tank there is already a letter with my wishes to the Ukrainian military, which I wrote in Ukrainian.”
What other “gifts for Putin” are the Czechs collecting for
As part of the project, 40 million crowns are currently being collected for ammunition for Tomasz and his friends – Czech self-propelled howitzers. The collection started about two weeks ago, more than 32 million Czech crowns have already been collected, and more than 9,000 people have donated.
Ondracek says that they would like to expand the project in Germany and Poland. While they are looking for interested and responsible people there, ready to get down to business and collect for “Gifts for Putin”, as the Czechs are already doing.
