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To Each Their Own Wartime Superpower – Perseverance For Volunteers, Money For Business Decision-Makers
Last Updated on: November 14th, 2024
Right now, every piece of local and global news is filled with reports about how much aid and military equipment Ukraine receives from Western partners. But everything looked different at the beginning of the invasion. There was nothing at all. How did the Ukrainians manage?
When the invasion hit, everybody was grabbing and using every little thing. A bit later, the combination of efforts of volunteers and businesses created an effective symbiosis. When there was a shortage of self-propelled artillery at the front, volunteers immediately considered the issue with their own forces. But how to create such complex equipment on your own?
The practice has shown that nothing is impossible for people united by an idea. Pickup trucks were equipped with turrets and large-caliber machine guns. Why not do the same on a larger scale?
A Volunteer-Type Ukrainian Self-Propelled Artillery Mount
This is how the first project was born. KrAZ-65053 with a 6×4 wheel formula was put into operation and converted. Before the war, it worked as an ordinary tanker. But, as a result of a creative approach, it has been serving in the National Guard as a full-on self-propelled artillery mount since June.
A 57 mm S-60 anti-aircraft gun was installed on the chassis, which can also be effectively used against ground targets. The rate of fire reaches 120 shots per minute. The initial speed of the projectile is 1000 m/s. The presented “gun truck” has a firing range of up to 6,000 m and an altitude of up to 5,000 m. The anti-aircraft gun can hit air targets flying at a speed of up to 300 m/s.
After the first successful experience, the volunteers returned to the one who gave the first KrAZ – businessman Alexander Katsuba. The project took on a second iteration, and now the production never stops. All in all, five such vehicles joined the ranks of the National Guard.
“I try to join military assistance projects to the best of my ability. Since the beginning of the war, the boys and I have brought and handed over five pickup trucks to the Armed Forces. Eventually, an interesting project was born. Together with the volunteers, they took a KrAZ with a tank from my company and the volunteers reequipped it. Instead of a “barrel”, an artillery weapon was installed on the car and a self-propelled gun came out. The project was sent straight to the front.” – Alexander Katsuba.
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Any And Every Pickup Comes In Handy
At the beginning of the invasion, a major issue for Armed Forces was the lack of vehicles to help increase mobility and perform operational tasks – pickup trucks. The guys from the volunteer movement turned to Alexander Katsuba for funding and brought back five pickup trucks at first. Then another ten. And then two more minibus vehicles.
But it is important that the project includes more than just buying and sending machines to the front. They are brought to Kyiv. Here, at a specialized car service that has been preparing SUVs for many years, cars undergo maintenance and necessary repairs.
Despite the fact that the vehicles are brought in relatively normal condition (within the possible budget), they need to go through a lot of things before being sent to combat units.
First, a detailed inspection, replacement of lubricants in the engine and transmission, checking the integrity and strength of the frame (a weak point of many pickups), suspension repair, etc.
On top of that, the volunteer Dmytro, who oversees this direction, received zero information about the damage to the car on many occasions, getting into the car with the carriage to pick up the broken pickup truck, bringing it back for repair, and then put the vehicle back into service.
The whole process continues as long as the Ukrainian resistance to the invaders lives on.
A Car Without Wheels Is A Piece Of Garbage
In the conditions of hostilities and proximity to the front, the problem of car service is acute. And one of the most painful topics is wheel damage. It is understandable. Cars drive over cracks in the asphalt, remnants of metal scattered by explosions, debris, and the like. Tires are punctured, cut, and torn.
Wheels need to be repaired or replaced all the time. But you can’t take several sets of ready-made wheels in the back of a pickup, like in a car on rally raids. This space is needed for transporting ammunition, installing a turret with a machine gun, or transporting the wounded. So after another discussion with the military, the automotive portal Autocentre.ua, together with Alexander Katsuba and the charity fund “Ukraine on Fire” decided to launch a mobile tire fitting for the army.
“We are fighting to preserve projects so that the economy works and supports the army. And, of course, I continue researching other military assistance projects all the time. Our mobile tire changers are another one of them.”
Two minibusses and tons of special equipment were purchased under the project, and a full-on conversion of cars was launched. The project “Mobile tire repair” is at the stage of implementation and will soon be operational. Hopefully, some of the transportation issues for the Armed Forces will be solved.
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