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How Ukrainians fund their own fight against Russia

by Anna Yakutenko February 28, 2025 5:29 PM 1 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

While Ukraine heavily relies on foreign aid, the country’s war effort is also funded by its own people. In 2024 alone, individual volunteers and fundraisers have raised nearly $1 billion to buy critical weapons and equipment for the Ukrainian military. But why do ordinary Ukrainians continue donating when international aid exists? And how has Ukraine’s unique culture of giving become a lifeline for the country’s survival?

Anna Yakutenko

Video Production Manager

Anna Yakutenko is the production manager at the Kyiv Independent. She started out as a print journalist at the Kyiv Post in 2015, and later switched to video format, launching a video department at the Kyiv Post in 2018. Later, she worked as a Head of Video at the Kyiv Independent in 2022-2023, before switching to production management in 2024. Anna has spent six months working with the newsrooms in the U.S. as a Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow in 2018. She holds a BA in journalism from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.Read more

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