A joint charity project to speed up demining by Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation has been successfully completed. As part of the initiative, all sets of necessary equipment, vehicles, and sets of modern equipment for mine and ammunition disposal were handed over to the defenders of 146 engineering and demining groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Each group received a new pickup truck, a quadcopter, a tablet, radios, personal and group demining kits, a metal detector, a blasting machine with a charger and a pouch, etc. The group of military units received 42 modular explosive protective suits "Yarowit".
Since May 2023, a fundraising campaign has been underway to provide transport and demining equipment for the sappers of the Armed Forces Support Force. A total of UAH 180 million was accumulated thanks to the contributions of concerned Ukrainians, foreign partners, subscribers and employees of the mobile operator, business and cultural representatives. Kyivstar transferred more than UAH 61 million to the collection, including a direct charitable contribution of UAH 31.5 million, more than UAH 29 million transferred through the Superpower "Help for the Armed Forces", and almost UAH 700 thousand from the mobile operator's employees.
"I sincerely thank our sappers who are clearing Ukraine of the dangerous legacy of war and thank everyone who supported the initiative "We Live Here". Together, we have exceeded the ambitious goal of UAH 175 million and raised UAH 180 million to help our defenders make our land safe for life,"said Oleksandr Komarov, CEO of Kyivstar.
We would like to remind you that "We Live Here" is a joint initiative of the mobile operator and the Come Back Alive army competent assistance fund with the partnership support of 1+1 media group. 100% of the funds raised will be used to purchase gear, equipment and vehicles for the Armed Forces sappers. The modern equipment is to protect the defenders engaged in demining and accelerate the liberation of the territory of Ukraine and its waters from the dangerous consequences of war and occupation.
"The units of the Armed Forces Support Forces are demining both the de-occupied Kharkiv and Kyiv regions and the areas of Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia where the fighting continues. Last summer, we started supplying the engineer teams with passable, reliable vehicles and equipment under the We Live Here project. This has already significantly strengthened the sappers in performing demining and engineering reconnaissance tasks and saved many lives,"says Taras Chmut, director of the Come Back Alive Foundation.