“The front lines know no holidays’, – Poroshenko sends a new batch of drones to the army
Source: European Solidarity
On July 24, the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has sent another batch of military-grade equipment to the front lines. The latest donation, worth 68 million hryvnas, includes thousands of FPV drones, Mavic drones, and advanced electronic warfare (EW) systems. In 2024 alone, the Ukrainian politician has sent the military over 21,000 FPV drones.
Poroshenko explained that his initial plan was to provide 2,000 drones monthly. However, the frontline situation made him double this number.
“Behind me are 134 Mavic drones, which represent a month’s supply and will be dispatched to the front in a few days. In front of me are almost 300 thermal Mavic drones for nighttime operations. These are in high demand at the front, and we face a severe shortage,” said Poroshenko arguing the frontline has no recesses like Ukrainian MPs.
Ukrainian troops are in dire need of FPV drones but the Ukrainian goverment response’s has been slow.
“How is it that our soldiers are still waiting for the promised million FPV drones? … It’s almost August, and they’ve been waiting for eight months. If you claim they’ve arrived somewhere, I can provide you with contact information for dozens of brigades who have written reports complaining they have no FPVs. That’s why we can’t stop,” Poroshenko added.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.