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People's Bayraktar

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People's Bayraktar
Company typeFundraising campaign
IndustryCrowdfunding, Defense support
Founded2022
Area served
Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Canada
Key people
Andrius Tapinas, Serhiy Prytula, Sławomir Sierakowski
ProductsBayraktar TB2 drones (funded)

People's Bayraktar (Ukrainian: Народний Байрактар, romanized: Narodnyy Bayraktar) refers to a series of fundraising campaigns aimed at acquiring the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

These initiatives to finance Bayraktar TB2 drones for Ukraine's military were successfully conducted in Lithuania, Poland[1] and within Ukraine itself. Comparable fundraising efforts were also launched in Norway[2] and Canada.[3]

Fundraising

File:Lietuvos paštas Bayraktar TB2.jpg
Lithuanian Post issued stamps featuring the Bayraktar TB2 in recognition of Lithuania’s crowdfunding efforts
File:Bayraktar TB2 "Vanagas" 01.jpg
The Bayraktar TB2 combat drone acquired through Lithuanian crowdfunding

Lithuania

The inaugural fundraising campaign for the Bayraktar drone supporting Ukraine’s Armed Forces was launched in Lithuania, initiated by TV host Andrius Tapinas.[4] This project received formal endorsement from the defense ministries of both Lithuania and Turkey. Within just three days, Lithuanians raised over 5 million euros to fund the purchase.[5] On June 2, 2022, the drone manufacturer Baykar declared it would gift a Bayraktar TB2 to support the Lithuanian campaign.[5] Lithuania’s Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas highlighted that the funds raised would be allocated toward procuring essential munitions for the drone.[5]

Starting June 9, the Lithuanian Post introduced a stamp depicting the Bayraktar TB2.[6] Half of the proceeds from this stamp’s sales are directed to the "Blue/Yellow" charity fund (Lithuanian: Mėlyna ir geltona), which provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.[6]

Ukraine

On June 22, 2022, coinciding with his birthday, TV host and public figure Serhiy Prytula launched a nationwide fundraising initiative aimed at purchasing Bayraktar TB2 attack drones. He revealed that the "People's Bayraktar" campaign had been in development for approximately one month.

Within the first 24 hours, nearly 300 million hryvnias were raised. By the third day, the initial target of 500 million hryvnias was not only met but surpassed. Prytula reported that by the evening of June 24, contributions exceeded ₴600 million, enabling the acquisition of four Bayraktars instead of the originally planned three.

A key slogan of the campaign emphasized that every six hryvnias made a difference.

Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the President of Ukraine’s Office, also reflected on the successful fundraising:

"In only three days, Andrius Tapinas and the Lithuanian people collected €6 million for Bayraktar drones to support Ukraine. The Serhiy Prytula Foundation and Ukrainian citizens matched this effort and will secure four additional drones. Victory is certain because genuine individuals worldwide stand with us. For Russia, only darkness and emptiness remain."

The fundraising efforts garnered widespread coverage from international media outlets including Yahoo, Sky News, Politico, TRhaber, among others.

Following the conclusion of fundraising, drone producer Baykar declared it would provide three drones to Ukraine free of charge—these corresponded to the amount raised by Ukrainians—with the stipulation that all donated funds be directed toward charities aiding Ukrainians both domestically and abroad (including refugees). This proposal was accepted.

On August 18, Prytula shared via YouTube and a post on Notion that the collected funds had been allocated to secure a contract with Finnish satellite company ICEYE. This agreement grants Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence full operational access to one of ICEYE’s satellites currently orbiting over the region. Prytula noted this access is guaranteed for a period exceeding one year.

The Bayraktar drones arrived in Ukraine on September 5 and were promptly deployed to frontline operations. They were given the names Халепа (Khalepa), Ковінька (Kovinka), and Трясця (Triastsia)—all Ukrainian exclamations expressing frustration or anger. These names symbolically suggest that enemy forces will be cursing when struck by these drones.

Poland

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On June 28, 2022, a fundraising initiative for Bayraktar drones was launched in Poland, following the examples set by Lithuania and Ukraine. This campaign was spearheaded by Polish journalist Sławomir Sierakowski.[7] The collection period was set for 30 days with a target of 4.5 million złotys. By June 30, the campaign had already gathered its initial million złotys.[8]

Ultimately, the total amount raised reached 22.5 million zlotys, significantly surpassing the original goal. Once again, the Turkish manufacturer provided the Bayraktar drone free of charge to Ukraine, allowing the collected funds to be redirected toward humanitarian relief efforts. Sławomir Sierakowski shared a letter from Baykar’s board of directors confirming this arrangement.[9]

See also

References

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Template:2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

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