海角大神

In one of the combat zones against Russia, the supply chief for a Ukrainian fighting brigade places his online order for war supplies 鈥� a long list ranging from drones, trucks, and thermal sights to batteries, generators, and tape. They are needed, he writes, to equip two new battalions and 鈥渃ombat against armed aggression.鈥�

In a makeshift supply depot in the capital, Kyiv, crowd-funders start busying themselves with his request. Their bustle will get the equipment to the 72nd Brigade within days, all paid for with public donations.聽

With attritional combat devouring soldiers and resources, Ukraine is waging a people鈥檚 war, fought away from front lines by self-starting networks of donors and volunteers. Tech-savvy systems they鈥檝e thrown together convert millions of dollars in donations into swift Amazon-like deliveries of war gear direct to the battlefields. They鈥檙e helping keep Ukraine in the fight at a critical juncture of the Russian invasion, as its better-supplied aggressor applies tremendous, grinding pressure on battlefields to the east and south.

Civilian volunteering is also boosting morale, providing tangible proof to Ukrainians that they鈥檙e together in their battle for survival, even if they don鈥檛 have guns in their hands. From grandmothers cutting old clothes into strips to make camouflage netting to the bereaved girlfriend of a slain soldier who walked into the supply depot after his burial saying she wanted to help, most everyone seems to be doing their bit, big, and small, or by direct debit.

Civilian assistance for the military effort has been a feature of Ukrainian resistance from Day 1 of the Feb. 24 invasion, as ordinary folk dropped everything to help and raided their bank accounts to equip hastily assembled new units. From modest beginnings, including telephone hotlines for donations that were immediately overwhelmed with calls, crowd-funding initiatives have matured into well-oiled machines. They have online payment systems and slick websites explaining their needs, and volunteers applying their expertise in civilian fields 鈥� logistics, technology, purchasing, electronics 鈥� to help get supplies into troops鈥� hands.

Five months into the invasion, creative fundraising is also keeping money flowing in 鈥� belying the notion that Ukrainians are losing interest and feeling less imperiled in the uneasy peace that has returned to Kyiv and other cities since badly mauled Russian forces withdrew from the north in April, refocusing on capturing Ukraine鈥檚 eastern Donbas region.

An appeal last week by Ukrainian television personality and politician Serhiy Prytula for $15 million in donations to buy three Turkish-made Bayraktar combat drones went viral. He subsequently announced that he鈥檇 surged past the target, raising $20 million 鈥� enough for four Bayraktars 鈥� in under three days.

鈥淧eople want to be useful,鈥� said聽Nastya Kuchmenko, a war support fund co-founder.

On the opposing side, some Russians, including soldiers鈥� mothers, also are getting supplies to troops. But the Russian effort isn鈥檛 as organized, massive, and spontaneous, in part because the Kremlin is downplaying the scale, reach, and cost of its invasion, insisting that it鈥檚 a mere 鈥渕ilitary operation.鈥�

The United People鈥檚 Front, a Kremlin-created effort to foster public support for the government, launched a crowd-funding campaign in early June, under the slogan 鈥淎ll for Victory!鈥�

鈥淭he guys on the front line who are dying for the right to be Russians, who are fighting for our common freedom, will greatly appreciate any help you can offer,鈥� Mikhail Kuznetsov, a United People鈥檚 Front executive, said of the drive for front-line gear and medicines. 鈥淭hey will win in any case, but they will win faster and with smaller casualties if we help them.鈥�

On the Ukrainian side, victory is the goal, too.

The foundation run by Mr. Prytula, the TV personality, prioritizes its aid for units in combat hot spots. Unit commanders list their needs and locations on an online form.

That鈥檚 how 鈥淭okha鈥� 鈥� the nom de guerre of the quartermaster for the 72nd Brigade 鈥� submitted his order. Gear on his wish-list hinted at the ferocity of the fighting around his location in the east, with requests for 100 periscopes for peering from trenches, a dozen tablets pre-loaded with software to correct artillery fire, and even wire 鈥� presumably for use as tripwires. Bigger-ticket items included six vans and pick-up trucks.

Convoys of vans, trucks, and other vehicles, sourced second-hand from elsewhere in Europe, set off loaded with gear every week from the foundation鈥檚 depot in Kyiv. Some vehicles are repainted in army green to make them battle-ready. Their front-line lives can be short: Two recently delivered ambulances lasted just two days before Russian bombs destroyed them.

The foundation says it has raised more than $34 million since the invasion began, mostly as donations 鈥� ranging from pennies to a businessman鈥檚 gift in cryptocurrency of $1.3 million. The foundation also auctioned the Eurovision Song Contest trophy won and then donated by Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra and raffled the bright bucket hat worn by its frontman. Together, they fetched $1.25 million.

The foundation says it has fulfilled 2,200 orders from units in just the last two months. On the receiving end, the troops or volunteers who make the deliveries take photos to prove that aid is being used as intended.

鈥淯krainians are a nation of volunteers and we can do unimaginable things together,鈥� said Maria Pysarenko, who works with Mr. Prytula. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also about not just the fundraising but community-building and showing that, 鈥榊es, we can.鈥欌��

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed.