KYIV (Reuters) – It does not matter if we forge swords on plows. A Ukrainian businessman turns remnants of a Russian fighter jet into souvenir keychains and sells them abroad to support the war effort. “Many of my friends tell me ‘$ 1,000 – no one will give it to you for this piece of metal, it’s crazy,’” said Iurii Vysoven, founder of Drones for Ukraine. “In the morning, I woke up and realized on my phone (that) $ 20-30,000 has already been raised and we see this constant flow of messages from people asking questions and saying (that) they want to donate more, they tell us it’s an incredible idea.” The plane is a Russian two-seater tactical fighter-bomber Su-34 that the Ukrainian army says it shot down over the city of Borodianka, northwest of Kiev, in early March, when Russian forces were trying to occupy and hold the area. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine published images of the wreckage, which, as it says, had the queue number RF-81251 and the call sign “31 Red”. After the Russians withdrew and resumed their invasion of eastern Ukraine, Wisoven asked the defenders of the area if he could have some of the debris scattered on agricultural land. The soldiers told him that both pilots of the plane had been killed. Among the wreckage the ministry showed was a helmet with a stencil in Russian with the last three letters of a surname ending in “-NOV” and an empty leather case marked “Buryat” – the name of an ethnic group living in Siberia. Russia has not confirmed the details of its military casualties, and Reuters has not been able to verify the circumstances under which the plane crashed. Vysoven, who works in advertising, has elongated pieces about 10 centimeters (4 inches) long, imprinted with shaft fragments, then processed, polished and printed with information about the plane and a “thank you” to the buyer. Each one is perforated to receive a keychain and is engraved with a unique serial number. The story goes on “The uniqueness of this keychain is that we made it from the wreckage of a real Russian plane,” he said. “This is a truly unique gift to those who helped us.” In his office, Vysoven has an example of the infrared thermal imaging drones he buys for the Ukrainian army with key ring revenue. “Now that we have raised a lot more money, we feel a lot more responsibility,” he said. “My dream is this fund – we would not need it anymore. My dream is to win, all safe,” he added. “Everyone goes home safe. And (that) we do not need to raise money to save someone’s life.” (Written by Kevin Liffey, edited by Ross Russell)
title: “Ukrainian Forges Plane Wreckage Into Locks To Fund Military Effort Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-21” author: “Felicia Mckinney”
“Many of my friends tell me ‘$ 1,000 – no one will give it to you for this piece of metal, it’s crazy,’” said Iurii Vysoven, founder of Drones for Ukraine. “In the morning, I woke up and realized on my phone (that) $ 20-30,000 has already been raised and we see this constant flow of messages from people asking questions and saying (that) they want to donate more, they tell us it’s an incredible idea.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The plane is a Russian two-seater tactical fighter-bomber Su-34 that the Ukrainian army says it shot down over the city of Borodianka, northwest of Kiev, in early March, when Russian forces were trying to occupy and hold the area. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine published images of the wreckage, which, as it says, had the queue number RF-81251 and the call sign “31 Red”. After the Russians withdrew and resumed their invasion of eastern Ukraine, Wisoven asked the defenders of the area if he could have some of the debris scattered on agricultural land. A man makes a keychain from the fuselage of a Russian SU-34 wreck as part of the “Made in Russia, recycled in Ukraine” campaign, in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 29, 2022. The photo was taken on April 29, 2022. REUTERS / Leonardo Benasato read more The soldiers told him that both pilots of the plane had been killed. Among the wreckage the ministry showed was a helmet with a stencil in Russian with the last three letters of a surname ending in “-NOV” and an empty leather case marked “Buryat” – the name of an ethnic group living in Siberia. Russia has not confirmed the details of its military casualties, and Reuters has not been able to verify the circumstances under which the plane crashed. Vysoven, who works in advertising, has elongated pieces about 10 centimeters (4 inches) long, imprinted with shaft fragments, then processed, polished and printed with information about the plane and a “thank you” to the buyer. Each one is perforated to receive a keychain and is engraved with a unique serial number. “The uniqueness of this keychain is that we made it from the wreckage of a real Russian plane,” he said. “This is a truly unique gift to those who helped us.” In his office, Vysoven has an example of the infrared thermal imaging drones he buys for the Ukrainian army with key ring revenue. “Now that we have raised a lot more money, we feel a lot more responsibility,” he said. “My dream is this fund – we would not need it anymore. My dream is to win, all safe,” he added. “Everyone goes home safe. And (that) we do not need to raise money to save someone’s life.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Written by Kevin Liffey Editing by Ros Russell Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
