ERIC's Charity Projects in 2023

In 2023, the European Resilience Initiative Center raised over €300,000 of donations to support Ukraine's civilians soldiers. Here are our most important projects:

Lights for Ukrainian Christmas

In late 2022, Russia’s armed forces commenced military attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure. Deliberate targeting of energy facilities is estimated to leave up to 10 million people across the country in winter darkness. Municipal administrations introduced energy rationing to ensure the continued work of critical infrastructure facilities. With the power supply partially cut off, residents faced suspended or limited operations of public transportation, banks, gasoline stations, mobile networks, and water supplies in multi-story buildings.

The European Resilience Initiative Center decided to act fast. We announced our first-ever donation call and thanks to your readiness to help, raised €13,000 within just 10 days. Eight power stations were purchased:
•    4 compact EcoFlow River Max 2
•    3 medium EcoFlow Delta Max
•    A 45-kg EcoFlow Delta Pro station with a 3,600-watt capacity

These power stations went to those who needed them most: two schools and a hospital in Kyiv, a media center of Ukraine's PEN club, families of internal displaced persons, an orphanage in Svitlovodsk, and a community center in the Russia-destroyed town Izyum. Our director Sergej Sumlenny delivered all equipment directly to recipients, including those living in Izyum, just 40 km from the frontline. We also purchased musical instruments for a community center in Izyum to replace those destroyed by Russian soldiers during the occupation.

Medical Supplies & Drones for Sergeant Alina Sarnatska

In March 2023, we interviewed Ukrainian military medic Alina Sarnatska, a sociologist who has volunteered for the army in the first week of Russia's full-scale invasion. Asked if she needs any help, Alina explained that her unit urgently needs medical equipment for treating wounds and night-vision drones. Donations, worth €20,000, sufficied to purchase medical devices for treating shot wounds and lungs penetrations and two night-vision drones Mavic 3T. In just a week we delivered this equipment to the town Kramatorsk, just 30 kilometers from the city of Bakhmut, where Alina's unit was fighting.

Drones for the 47th Mechanized Brigade

Drones are essential in Ukraine to help search for wounded soldiers, to carry out observation missions, and even to conduct mine clearance. They are also important for civilians, for instance, to find lost civilians, especially children, or to analyse damage caused by Russian artillery to residential areas. Together with the Twitter community BrennpunktUA, we raised over €140,000 in just 50 days, and purchased 27 drones, including:

•    17x Mavic3T
•    6x Mavic3 and 3Pro
•    2x Mavic3 Long Flight
•    1x Mavic3Classic
•    1x Mavic2EA (thermal, previous generation)

Our director Sergej Sumlenny delivered these drones to the 47th Mechanized Brigade, fighting near the city of Zaporizhzhya. Two drones were sent to Alina Sarnatska's territorial defense unit and one more drone to the city of Kupiansk. As a thank you, the soldiers of the 47th Mechanized brigade gifted the European Resilience Initiative Center their unit's flag with their signatures and good wishes.

Christmas Drones for Avdiivka

Christmas Drones for Avdiivka
Our first donation campaign for the 47th Mechanized Brigade turned into a lasting friendship (unfortunately, as we prefer these soldiers to return to their civilian lives after Ukraine’s victory). In late 2023, the brigade was transferred to the city of Avdiivka, a hell on earth. Thanks to your support, we raised €85,000 in donations for our Christmas Drones campaign to buy:

•    7x Autel EvoMax 4T drones
•    11x Mavic 3T drones
•    10 light multifunctional observation drones

As usual, we personally delivered these drones directly to the frontline and sent multifunctional observation drones to 37th Marine Brigade, a sister brigade of Alina Sarnatska's unit. This time, we also added a traditional German Christmas cake Christstollen for Ukrainian soldiers.
 

Healing Wounds of Russian Occupation

During the Russian occupation of Kyiv region, Russian soldiers killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, often leaving their pets with no food in a scorched-earth environment. The European Resilience Initiative Center campaigned to purchase food and medicine for the Transform a Street Dog shelters in Kyiv. Our co-director Sascha Ostanina also adopted two dogs, who now happily live in Berlin.

Do you want to support our activities and/or donation campaigns? Consider donating to the European Resilience Initiative Center! As we are a registered charity, your donations are tax-deductible in Germany.