[1/4] Sergey Prytula, a fundraiser, comedian and politician, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at a foundation office in Kiev, Ukraine, May 26, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
KYIV, May 31 (Reuters) – From buying surveillance drones and armored vehicles to providing satellite access, fundraiser Serhiy Prytula helped Ukraine’s military during Russia’s invasion.
Now the comedian-turned-politician’s charitable foundation has set its sights on the next big battle: post-war recovery.
“Ukrainian civil society must be part of the recovery precisely because we can once again help our country, our government,” he told Reuters in an English-language interview.
Prytula, 41, led a campaign to acquire Turkish Bayraktar drones after Russia’s full-scale invasion last February.
Sergei Prytula’s charitable foundation then bought access to a Finnish-made satellite for about $17 million to take pictures of Russian troop positions, including in occupied Crimea.
The foundation also raised about $9.5 million for attack drones, which it says were ordered by Kiev’s military intelligence.
Using social media campaigns in which Prytula features prominently, as of February 2022, the foundation has completed more than 4,200 military orders worth about $119 million for supplies, including medical kits and communication devices.
Prytula failed to win a seat in parliament in 2019 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Kyiv in 2020. But a recent opinion poll showed he enjoys the trust of 65% of Ukrainians, second only to President Volodymyr Zelensky among politicians.
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On a May afternoon, the foundation’s headquarters in Kyiv buzzed with activity as newly delivered drones were inventoried and Prytula posed for photos with visiting children.
“Today, we are an efficient organization with a very precise structure and clearly defined responsibilities,” said foundation director Anna Gvozdiar. “Every person, worker and volunteer knows what is expected of them.
After the war, Prytula wanted to apply his crowdfunding acumen to help rebuild the war-torn parts of Ukraine. The World Bank estimated that reconstruction would cost $411 billion.
Prytula said his organization will create an endowment with other Ukrainian groups considered reputable to fund smaller projects, such as local medical clinics, while the government prioritizes larger efforts.
Gvozdiar said supplying the troops remains a priority for now.
“The fact that all our attention is currently on the front line does not mean that the (northern) Sumy region, for example, is not still being shelled and that civilian buildings and infrastructure are not being destroyed,” she said.
“All this will have to be restored and after the war we will begin to measure all that we have lost.”
Additional reporting by Ivan Lubish-Kirdei and Sergiy Karazi; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Sharon Singleton
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