Czech fundraisers for Ukraine have seen a massive surge in donations following a heated on-air exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The confrontation which took place on Friday in the Oval Office, has now sparked a wave of financial support for Kyiv, with one organizer saying more and more Czechs are “taking out their credit cards and creating counterpressure” on the U.S.
Martin Ondráček, organizer of the “Dárek pro Putina” (“A Gift for Putin”) initiative, told public broadcaster Czech Radio that his fundraiser, which typically raises between 220,000 (€8,768) and 270,000 (€10,761) Czech Koruna per day, received nearly 3 million Czech Koruna (€119,000) within hours of the Trump-Zelensky meeting’s broadcast.
The initiative recently raised €2.9 million to purchase a Black Hawk helicopter for Ukraine.
Ondráček said: “As Trump creates public pressure, some people in the Czech Republic are taking out their credit cards and creating counterpressure.”
Other fundraisers have also recorded a boost in donations.
Tomáš Vyhnálek, director of fundraising at “People in Need”, told Czech Radio that the organization’s SOS Ukraine campaign had received 20 million Czech Koruna (€797,000) over the past week, coinciding with the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
He said: “We keep adding more donors to the so-called ‘club of friends’ of People in Need, which is based on small donations.
“Every month, people donate to help causes around the world, including in Ukraine. We currently have 40,000 members in that club.”
The funds are being used for both military and humanitarian aid, including the purchase of drones for frontline units in Donetsk and Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, local volunteers and organizations have also ramped up their efforts, delivering medical supplies, firefighting robots, and trench candles to Ukraine.
Trump’s lurch towards Moscow in a war in which Washington has been Kyiv’s most important ally has caused consternation in Ukraine and among Washington’s traditional allies.
It has also heightened European concerns about whether the U.S., which has been its security guarantor since WWII, can still be considered a reliable ally.
Martin Ondráček, organizer of the “Dárek pro Putina” (“A Gift for Putin”) initiative, told public broadcaster Czech Radio that his fundraiser, which typically raises between 220,000 (€8,768) and 270,000 (€10,761) Czech Koruna per day, received nearly 3 million Czech Koruna (€119,000) within hours of the Trump-Zelensky meeting’s broadcast.
The initiative recently raised €2.9 million to purchase a Black Hawk helicopter for Ukraine.
Ondráček said: “As Trump creates public pressure, some people in the Czech Republic are taking out their credit cards and creating counterpressure.”
Other fundraisers have also recorded a boost in donations.
Tomáš Vyhnálek, director of fundraising at “People in Need”, told Czech Radio that the organization’s SOS Ukraine campaign had received 20 million Czech Koruna (€797,000) over the past week, coinciding with the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
He said: “We keep adding more donors to the so-called ‘club of friends’ of People in Need, which is based on small donations.
“Every month, people donate to help causes around the world, including in Ukraine. We currently have 40,000 members in that club.”
The funds are being used for both military and humanitarian aid, including the purchase of drones for frontline units in Donetsk and Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, local volunteers and organizations have also ramped up their efforts, delivering medical supplies, firefighting robots, and trench candles to Ukraine.
Trump’s lurch towards Moscow in a war in which Washington has been Kyiv’s most important ally has caused consternation in Ukraine and among Washington’s traditional allies.
It has also heightened European concerns about whether the U.S., which has been its security guarantor since WWII, can still be considered a reliable ally.
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