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Ukrainian charity Come Back Alive has launched a fundraising campaign to support the country’s armed forces in cyber campaigns against Russia — on and off the battlefield.
The charity hopes to raise 50,000,000 Ukrainian hryvnias, or almost $2 million.
For operational reasons, the charity is not saying exactly what the money will be spent on, but that every dollar will go towards disrupting Russian battlefield communications and logistics, as well as target identification and reconnaissance.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have already formed a new structure — cyber forces. These are servicemen who will perform tasks on the invisible battlefield and help real tanks and artillery to win back Ukrainian territories,” Andriy Rymaruk, head of Come Back Alive’s military department, said in an announcement.
“We actually raise money for cyber offensive. It will burn even in the most rotten heart of the occupying country.”
Come Back Alive was formed in 2014 by a Ukrainian IT specialist, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Since then, it has provided a range of hardware to over 100 front-line units, including military optics, GPS hardware, and radar equipment. The non-government organisation also offers training to soldiers in specialist fields such as sniping, drone operation, and medical aid.
Aside from helping battlefield units, Come Back Alive has worked with a number of veteran organisations in Ukraine and abroad, including the Warrior Games and Invictus Games.
The charity was the first foundation to receive a licence to procure and import military hardware, in particular, the Bayraktar TB2 attack UAV.
Since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine last year, Come Back Alive has raised about 3.9 billion Ukrainian hryvnias, or about $155 million.
You can learn more about the campaign, or make a donation, at https://cyberdef.savelife.in.ua/.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.