"Gift for Putin": Czechs raise over €2.8 million to fund military helicopter for Ukraine

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“It's done. The Czech Republic has become the first country in the world whose citizens have donated a military helicopter for Ukraine. We have raised more money and will use it to transport a Black Hawk UH-60 to Ukraine,” the initiative said in a statement.

They added that more details would be announced during a press conference on Thursday, March 6.

According to Czech media, the legendary Black Hawk will soon be delivered to Ukrainian reconnaissance forces.

The fundraising campaign began in November 2023, but due to the high cost of the helicopter, it took more than a year to complete. The aircraft, an older American-made model named Chestmire, was initially intended to be purchased from a private owner in Europe, who set the price at 105 million Czech korunas. However, the organizers later found an identical helicopter outside the EU at a significantly lower cost — 70 million korunas (approximately 2.8 million euros).

By the end of the fundraising campaign, the account had collected 72,219,584 Czech korunas, with contributions from 20,400 donors, including individuals, businesses, and non-governmental organizations.

• As part of the Radarom! solidarity campaign marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian citizens and businesses donated over 1 million euros in just one week.