Thirteen Mavic 3 drones were donated to the reconnaissance units of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by representatives of FC “Polissya” and the BGV Charity Fund, led by Hennadiy Butkevych.
The batch of modern aerial drones was purchased as a result of a charity fundraiser during the BGV Winter Cup football tournament. During the competition, FC “Polissya” and the BGV Charity Fund managed to raise about 1.4 million UAH. In total, during the tournament, 60,000 UAH was collected in donations from fans watching the matches live. Ukrainian friends from Estonia also contributed to the fundraising efforts: Viktor Levada, president of the “Levadia” football club in Tallinn, donated 15,000 euros for purchasing equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
After the charity tournament, FC “Polissya” president and BGV Charity Fund founder Hennadiy Butkevych doubled the amount raised. Thus, the total raised was around 1.4 million UAH, which was used to purchase 13 Mavic 3 drones for Ukrainian scouts based in the border region of Zhytomyr. The drones will assist the military in safely and effectively carrying out their tasks to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The BGV Winter Cup friendly football tournament took place from February 6 to 15, 2023. Four teams participated in the competition: two UPL representatives — “Vorskla” and “Veres,” the First League leader — FC “Polissya,” and the Estonian Premier League club — “Levadia.”
“Currently, everyone is contributing to Ukraine’s victory over the aggressor. The best thing we know how to do is play football. Therefore, FC ‘Polissya,’ club president Hennadiy Butkevych, and the BGV Charity Fund decided to combine the sports and charity aspects. This led to a wonderful result that will allow us to provide necessary equipment to the reconnaissance unit of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, based in Zhytomyr region,” said FC “Polissya” General Director Volodymyr Zahursky.
“Projects and charity fundraisers from our foundation once again prove that one of the superpowers of Ukrainians is the ability to unite. Our goal was to raise funds for five drones for reconnaissance units in Zhytomyr. In the end, the results allow us to purchase 13 drones — almost three times more than planned. We continue to unite friends, from presidents of European football clubs to legends of Ukrainian boxing. The tournament was also supported by Oleksandr Usyk, who helped with fundraising through a charity auction. The foundation continues to seek opportunities to implement as many projects as possible in support of Ukrainian military, children, IDPs, and medical institutions. So far, we have managed to raise 10.5 million USD in support for Ukraine,” emphasized Polina Aldoshina, Director of the BGV Charity Fund.
