Ukraine war
“Go to hell!”: Ukrainians sell deadly messages on rockets and use them to collect donations
Labeled rockets from Ukraine
© NurPhoto / Imago Images
Ukraine wants to push back the Russian attackers with rockets. Messages to the enemies are applied to it – which are sold for donations.
The war in Ukraine has been raging for more than five months. Although many experts had expected after the Russian attack that the troops of Russian President Vladimir Putin would quickly conquer the country, Ukraine – with international support – is still valiantly defending itself.
Missiles are also part of the military defense, with which enemy soldiers are fired and which are intended to prevent further advances of Russian troops. Ukrainian websites offer the possibility of writing individual messages to Russia on these missiles. The proceeds will benefit the Ukrainian military, reports the Kyiv Independent website.
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According to the report, three organizations have already collected more than 110,000 euros. “With the messages on the rockets, people can express their pain, anger or belief in Ukraine’s victory,” explains Lyubov Galan.
She co-founded the Boomboard project. A “text message” to the Russian military costs about 30 euros there. For 175 euros you can send a rocket with a meme on it. Another offer praises a drone as “personal advertising space” – for a whopping 19,500 euros.
According to Galan, demand is high. The offer will be used for all kinds of messages, she says. “F*ck Russia! Go to hell,” read one message. Others get more creative: “Hey you Russians! I hope you like Ukrainian heavy metal!” Some messages clearly refer to Russian attacks: “Revenge for the theater in Mariupol” was written on a rocket.
An estimated 600 people died in the air raid on the theater in March. “Boomboard” has brought in around 50,000 euros so far, and there have already been 3,000 orders. The goal of the initiators: 200,000 euros to be able to buy four combat drones.
“Revenge for All Animals”
The similar project “RevengeFor” has revenues of a good 35,000 euros, most of which come from abroad. The highest donation was paid by someone from Norway, who threatened in his message “Revenge for all animals”: “Have sleepless nights in the Ukraine.” “Russia is a country that deserves the revenge of the whole world,” write the initiators on their website. “Help Ukrainian soldiers punish Russia for everything.”
Soldiers apply these messages to the rockets or bombs using Edding, the effort is minimal. “Technically, it’s not difficult. If you have a rocket, all you have to do is grab a marker and write,” explains volunteer Yevgenia Sobolyeva.
Russia also sometimes uses cynical inscriptions on its missiles. After the attack on the Kramatorsk train station in early April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published pictures on his Telegram channel showing a fragment of a Tochka submarine with the Russian inscription “For children”.
Sources: “Kyiv Independent” / “Boom Board” / “RevengeFor”