A major crowdfunding website pulled down a campaign page for an NGO supporting the Ukrainian military.
Patreon, which provides a monthly subscription service for many crowdfunded creators, announced on Thursday it suspended the fundraising page for “Come Back Alive,” a Ukrainian NGO that provides funding and supplies to the Ukrainian military. The page had raised more than $400,000 in monthly donations since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
“We don’t allow Patreon to be used for funding weapons or military activity. It is a violation of our policies, and so we have removed the page. All remaining funds in the account will be refunded to contributors,” Patreon said in a blog post.
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The funding was used to purchase “more than 1,500 tablets with software for Gunnya-Armor artillerymen, 230 quadcopters, 45 mobile surveillance systems … and more than 60 military vehicles,” according to Come Back Alive’s Patreon page. It also allegedly helped Ukrainian special forces train 350 snipers, 2,000 sappers, and 3,000 gunners.
Patreon encouraged those interested in donating funds directly to organizations such as the Ukrainian Red Cross Society or other Ukrainian creators.
The Come Back Alive campaign saw a massive surge of interest last week. Created in May 2020, the account’s donations escalated amid growing concerns of a Russian invasion.
The account brought in around $19,000 a month in donations as of Jan. 26, according to the Daily Dot. That amount soon escalated to $55,000 on Feb. 15 before it reached $436,000 a month as of Thursday.
Come Back Alive director Taras Chmut told CNBC the organization had received $300,000 in donations since Wednesday, including several contributions of less than $1,000.
“We have people dying because they don’t have body armor,” Chmut said, noting the budget for Ukrainian forces is low and that his nonprofit organization has helped get soldiers the equipment they need.
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Crowdfunding websites have been a target of controversy in recent weeks. The Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo raised $5 million for the Freedom Convoy in Ontario in early February after GoFundMe shut down its campaign. The crowdfunding website was later hacked, while the donor list was released to protest the political leanings of the convoy.
On the first day of fighting, 300 Ukrainian troops were wounded and 137 died, while Ukrainian forces killed an estimated 400 invaders, Ukraine’s president said.
