The fundraising campaign “Radarom!” was launched on January 30 and continued until February 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, collected 14 million euros to purchase multi-purpose tactical surveillance radars to monitor Ukraine’s airspace. The campaign was organized by Blue/Yellow, Laisvės TV, 1K Fondas, Stiprūs Kartu, and LRT.
“The unity of business companies and people was incredible,” said Andrius Tapinas, a co-organizer of the campaign. “Radars are tasked with monitoring airspace. These new radars from Israel are unique in that they can detect all types, sizes and speeds of objects moving in the sky. Conventional radars are not designed to track small and low-flying objects. Russian missiles and drones pose a lethal threat to Ukrainian defenders and civilians. These radars will go a long way in preventing Russian death squads,” said Jonas Ohman, founder of Blue/Yellow.
Three radars purchased during the Radarom fundraising campaign have already left for Ukraine, while the remaining 13 radars have reached Lithuania and are being prepared for transport, the Blue/Yellow organization announced on April 24. “We received the first radars back in March, and the rest of the shipment arrived in stages. We have sent three radars to Ukraine. Now that we have all the others, we are preparing them for shipment to Ukraine. We are moving at a good pace and much of the work has been finished,” Ohman. He said it was decided to buy several smaller devices after consultations with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ohman stressed that the radars are large, special-purpose devices, which are not easy to transfer and requires coordination of documents, permits and logistics.
Ukrainian troops visited Lithuania in March for a four-day training course in using the modern radars fundraised by Lithuanians.
“It is not only about military objects but also about civilian infrastructure because 90 percent of the time Russia targets energy and civil infrastructure,” he said.
“Thanks to our civil society’s activism in assisting Ukraine, Lithuania has already managed to earn a special reputation internationally of the defence industry, where much more serious players are operating. In some cases, the mere mention of Lithuania’s name makes the screws turn faster,” Ohman noted.
