The Russo-Ukrainian War gave rise to a civil volunteer movement which provides diverse support to Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
[1][2] In several months, some volunteer initiatives grew from groups in social networks into powerful crowdfunding projects which supplied the army with costly equipment like thermographic cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles, spaced armour and so on.
Several well-known activists received positions in governmental structures, including Ministry of Defence, where they work on improving army supply and in other fields.
[26] The most powerful volunteer organizations include People's Project, National Home Front, Come Back Alive, Phoenix Wings, Combat-UA, Army SOS and others.
[1][29] The movement involves many different people and kinds of activity: even schoolchildren of Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine suggested numerous models of military equipment in their competitions of scientific and technical projects.
Groups in the US, Canada, European and other countries collect money, buy medical supplies and other goods, organize cultural events and support the movement in other ways.
[34] According to several sociological surveys conducted in 2014–2016, the civil volunteers enjoy a high degree of public confidence among all non-state (as well as state) institutions of Ukraine.
[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] For example, a poll in February 2016 showed that 71% people trusted the volunteers, while the army and NGOs enjoyed 49% support, local authorities 42%, police 34%, parliament 8%, and courts 5%.