Kit for the Ukraine .

  • Thread starter Thread starter MGMGrand
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Even at the height of the fighting in 2014 Ukraine was a big net arms and equipment exporter, about ninth in the world.  Any shortages are due to an inability to stop oligarchs exporting for personal profit, and a reluctance of western allies to export much needed drone, anti-tank and comms equipment for fear of reverse engineering.   

I applaud the spirit of this kind of thing, but it won't sort out the  real problem of corruption.  I will be donating, but to the Red Cross.  

 
If you're trying to make the point that they use AR pattern rifles in Ukraine, then I think thats been established.  However, the units that use them have kit and don't need our airsoft cast offs.

There are even units out there who are equipped with the SIG MCX, again though they have kit. 

The run of the mill Ukrainian people taking up arms, have barely been properly trained to use the AKs they are being given, and certainly not on pouch admin etc.  As has been said, a basic satchel with mags, a molotov cocktail or two and they can quickly and easily blend in by ditching two items if necessary, rather than struggling with a load of kit to take off. 

 
Pretty sure that it all over the Internet to send money not goods.

Supply chains are a mess and since they are having genuine top of the line kit donated from governments all over the world I don't think a box of viper and 8 fields knock offs are really the best idea.

I am sure that the ops intentions are good but it is a really poorly thought out idea. Donate cash which can be used to buy the things they actually need which they can get much faster than a ups delivery.

People need to get off their high horses while waving the virtue banner and just do what is asked instead of pointless feel good gestures.

 
ImTriggerHappy said:
Pretty sure that it all over the Internet to send money not goods.

Supply chains are a mess and since they are having genuine top of the line kit donated from governments all over the world I don't think a box of viper and 8 fields knock offs are really the best idea.

I am sure that the ops intentions are good but it is a really poorly thought out idea. Donate cash which can be used to buy the things they actually need which they can get much faster than a ups delivery.

People need to get off their high horses while waving the virtue banner and just do what is asked instead of pointless feel good gestures.
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100%

I don't know what they need on the ground whilst sitting in safety in the UK.  I am happy to believe that by donating money, this can be used to appropriate the things they need, where they need it. 

 
Tactical Pith Helmet said:
it won't sort out the  real problem of corruption
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Indeed, Ukraine's corruption index of 33 puts it square among such titans of integrity as Nepal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Zambia. I'd reckon the chances of any donated goods getting to any "front line" without being stolen, sold, bought, diverted, re-stolen, re-sold, buried in a cache, dug up two years later and flogged in a market stall in East Elbonia are slim to none.

In the spirit of total clarity that I'm trying to adopt, what I'm seeing in this initiative is folk planning to have an angry stranglewank while watching the documentary Red Dawn and fantasising that their spare radio pouch will somehow contribute to Ukrainian Ramboski sending truckloads of teen conscripts back to Mother Russia in body bags.

Other ways to help are here: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/mar/05/ukraine-crisis-how-you-can-help-donating-cash-supplies

Although as always, you might want to check out the accounts of any charity first to see where (they claim) the money actually goes.

 
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Ok people the topic of donating kit to the Ukraine has been up and down like a nuns knickers in the Vatican so I’ve been looking in to it and I will be getting it done . Basically I’ve got an old mate who sells army surplus kit so obviously he’s been shifting an awful lot of his inventory in that direction and has the connections to actually get it their AND to the right people and is more than happy to pass it on for free if people want or the other idea we had was he sells the kit and the money (100%) will go to Ukrainian aid charities . Their absolutely desperate for anything that can hold armor and mags(he said their making their own armor in country) , helmets , tac vests basically load carrying kit , any pouches need to be able to take AK mags(he said M4 pouches aren’t much use as the ones that need the kit are being issued near 100% AK’s only) so either actual AK mag pouches or big utility pouches/dump pouches and the like , color wise the kit needs to be OG/DPM/OD or desert pattern .

what I’m looking to do is some time in the next wk gather up what I can to get to him and then drive to his warehouse  just outside Bristol to give him what I’ve collected . I’ll be driving up the M4 from Swansea so can stop off at the services to meet and collect and I’m also willing to go up the M5 as far as Gloucester’ish to collect from their as well before heading back down to Bristol . Going to be a few days before I set a date (only started organizing an hr ago!) but from what Mike said they are absolutely desperate for plate carriers real helmets etc etc . Cheers Druid .

 
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A little tip that will be most helpful is to ensure there are no badges, and ideally if items originally came from surplus check if the original users name is on it - if so scribble it out with marker pen 

 
Tommikka said:
A little tip that will be most helpful is to ensure there are no badges, and ideally if items originally came from surplus check if the original users name is on it - if so scribble it out with marker pen 
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Nothing to worry about their He’s well versed in sanitizing anything he’s handling .?

 
djben9 said:
Merged topics 

please keep posts here
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Started a new topic and not continued with the existing one as it’s dead in the water and I’m actually doing something unlike the post you’ve merged it with which was some random unknown spouting off at the forum members who questioned him , hence the new post as I was trying to distance my self from him .

Can you please delete all the old posts just to keep this fresh ?

cheers Druid .

 
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Rogerborg said:
Same goal, (very) different approaches to promoting it.  It looks like your chap isn't registered on https://www.ukrainesupport.org.uk/collection-points - it might be worthwhile suggesting that as well as doing word-of-mouth.
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He’s not part of a charity or todo with any of them or anything like that he’s a business man who sells kit (and an awful lot of it !) he’s just said he’s happy to pass it on to the people he’s dealing with as ‘an extra’ as it where . 

 
Druid799 said:
He’s not part of a charity or todo with any of them or anything like that he’s a business man who sells kit (and an awful lot of it !) he’s just said he’s happy to pass it on to the people he’s dealing with as ‘an extra’ as it where . 
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That's appropriate for that site, it's just a way for people with stuff to donate to find other people who can pass it on.  Whether it's a particularly useful site or not will depend on the number of people using it.

With genuine respect, if you know a bloke who's accepting stuff, why not tell us who it is?   If people can't get their stuff to him via you, they may be able to do it themselves. Every little helps, right?

 
Rogerborg said:
With genuine respect, if you know a bloke who's accepting stuff, why not tell us who it is?   If people can't get their stuff to him via you, they may be able to do it themselves. Every little helps, right?
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I’d have to speak to him first to see whether he wants to get involved like that as he isn’t a collection point in any way shape or form , this whole thing has come about purely from me and him having a chat this morning about the random customers he’s had calling at all hrs of the day about the kit he has and how desperate some of them are and how he’s tries to get it to the ‘good guys’ , how he’s selling at a much lower price than he could if he wanted on those items .

he told me he’s doing ok as is before this all started so it doesn’t feel right to be profiteering from this situation unlike some others he knows in the business who’s stories have been in the press claiming their  “practically giving away kit at cost” is utter rubbish he knows for a fact their selling the kit at very overinflated prices ! And me then asking as a one off thing if he could pass on my spare kit as I do have over 20yrs worth of gear sitting in bags unused as do my team mates and as I’d be driving to his warehouse I could pick up along the way any other donations .
 

 
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There is a reasonable need for various types of supplies

People might not be comfortable with ‘combat kit’ etc, and the main Ukraine forces don’t require them but many of the volunteers do & it could ‘assist’ to a degree to have some ‘proper’ kit to legitimise them as a unit as opposed to getting their pictures taken for propaganda purposes as a civilian with a gun

In the longer term that could get resolved with international support

For humanitarian support use your preferred known charity, however currently on the border I know a couple of guys if you’d like to see where your money is going on a day to day basis

For example they have been providing supplies to the volunteers helping refugees as they cross the border and also are transporting refugees from the border to a processing centre 

They are both well known through paintball, and run airsoft events as well 

https://www.facebook.com/1410474989200829/posts/3136065433308434/?d=n

 
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