Report: Second-hand British cars reach Ukraine's frontline to aid local forces

Second-hand cars, pickup trucks, and minivans bought in the UK with a fund established by a Ukrainian actor-comedian have been found on the frontline of the war in Ukraine, a report has revealed.

A report in the Guardian newspaper on Sunday said the vehicles bearing the UK number plates were bought with a fighters’ fund established by Serhiy Prytula from second-hand dealerships and individuals with a cut-price, and then ferried across the Channel and driven to Ukraine on the back of trucks.

Prytula rose to fame in the UK with a sketch show Faina Yukraina (Nice Ukraine) but now acts as an “alternative quartermaster to the Ukrainian armed forces”, the report noted.

After a journey of five to six days, the vehicles are distributed across the frontline among the Ukrainian military units fighting the Russians; Prytula is quoted as saying in the report.

With monthly donations of more than £7m, Prytula said he distributes military equipment, ranging from bulletproof vests and thermal telescopes to binoculars, drones, and electrical generators.

The 40-year-old TV presenter said that British cars have really helped the Ukrainian armed forces, “because our units create mobile groups.”

Prytula recently posted a video calling for donations for the Ukrainian army and seeking to meet the needs for defensive equipment as quickly as possible.

So far, 20 British cars have been dispatched to the frontline, and the vehicles have been given the nickname “hell rides” by the volunteers in Kiev, the report notes, adding that another 20 are in the process of being purchased.

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According to Maksym Kostetskyi, who has been managing the purchase of vehicles from the UK, demand from the Ukrainian side is three times the level of supply from the UK.

“There is a long waiting list. But we are very hopeful in that we have partners in the United Kingdom who are giving and providing the vehicles with lower prices,” Kostetskyi is quoted as saying in the report.

It calls it a great opportunity to buy them as right-hand cars are not in high demand in Europe.

“We have partners over there that want to help Ukrainians and want to support all of us all the way they can,” Kostetskyi notes.

“And we do believe that this is one of the biggest ways that the society and people of United Kingdom could support us as buying the same cars in other countries in the European Union costs twice as much.”

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The US and the UK have rejected the notion of implementing a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine, saying they cannot afford to have a direct military confrontation with Russia.

Thousands of foreign nationals have traveled to Ukraine to aid the Ukrainian forces against Russia. The situation on the frontline reminds of the war in Syria with fighters from other countries fueling the crisis.

Western countries have been accused of prolonging the conflict using their proxy tools and dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests for fighter jets and strategic military equipment.

Without getting directly involved in the military conflict, the US and the UK have been censured for treating Ukraine as a shield to wear out the Russian military strength.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” on February 24 to demilitarize the breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk, largely populated by ethnic Russians, in eastern Ukraine.

The operation was triggered by Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014, and Russia’s eventual recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The United States and its European allies, including the UK, have dubbed the military operation as “Putin’s land grab,” imposing unprecedented sanctions on Moscow.

In a statement on Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Putin was “desperate”.

“I will do everything in my power to starve Putin’s war machine. We are stepping up our sanctions and military support, as well as bolstering our humanitarian support package to help those in need on the ground,” he asserted.

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