By KYIV. May 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – During the year of operation of the United24 fundraising platform, which launched on May 5, 2022, the accounts of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) received over $325 million in contributions from international companies, Ukrainian businesses, charitable organizations, world celebrities and donors from 110 countries, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, according to the presidential press service.
With the funds accumulated with the help of United24, the relevant ministries purchased 176 ambulances, hundreds of pieces of medical equipment, ammunition for Ukrainian defenders, the first demining vehicle in Ukraine, contracted more than 3,839 UAVs and UAV systems, rebuilt 11 bridges on Mykolaiv and began to create the first the world’s fleet of marine drones.
“In its first year, the Ukrainian fundraising platform has become a global brand and proof that nothing is impossible when you bet on the priority of the state of Ukraine – humanity. Through United24, millions of people in more than a hundred countries support our country. On this day, we once again express our gratitude to all donors of the platform whose contributions save lives, restore lives, protect lives and bring Ukraine’s victory closer,” Zelenskyy said.
Platform ambassadors include 15 celebrities: Singer and actress Barbra Streisand, actors Mark Hamill and Liev Schreiber, actress Katheryn Winnick, Imagine Dragons, Balenciaga Creative Director Demna, director Michel Hazanavicius, astronaut Scott Kelly, historian Timothy Snyder, entrepreneur Richard Branson, country singer Brad Paisley, traveler Bear Grylls, and prominent Ukrainian athletes Elina Svitolina, Andriy Shevchenko, and Oleksandr Usyk.
“Over the past year, we have implemented more than 50 large targeted fundraising campaigns with United24 and realized more than a hundred strategic partnerships with the world’s most famous companies. But the main thing is that United24 has become a convenient digital tool for donations from people all over the world. The platform has also spurred the creation of the Army of Drones, a strategic state project that influences the course of events at the front,” Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said.
Among United24’s largest fundraisers is the first naval fleet of drones. More than UAH 500 million was raised for the drones, which are changing the rules of the game at sea. Other major fundraisers are “Azovstal. Symbol of Unbreakability” and “Might. Ukrainian Stone”. The total production of bracelets made from Azovstal’s pre-war metal batch amounted to 100 thousand pieces and was sold to 44 countries. This helped raise almost UAH 300 million to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities. A limited batch of Artemsil from the mines of Soledar in Ukraine raised more than UAH 58.5 million to buy kamikaze drones for Ukrainian reconnaissance men. The largest fundraiser in the medical aid area was for type C ambulances. Thanks to international business and donors from around the world, more than UAH 460 million was raised. To date, UAH 655.8 million has been raised for the Reconstruction of Ukraine project.
All the results of the United24 fundraising platform are available on the official website u24.gov.ua.
The platform’s auditor is Deloitte Ukraine, a part of the global Deloitte network, which is one of the Big Four accounting firms.
