Tracking down ATN gear in Ukraine
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
On April 18, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov posted a graphic showing what @_AidForUkraine crypto had spent $45 million in donations on. Some $6 million went for night vision equipment, much of it come from Florida-based American Technical Network Corporation, which had earlier announced it was given “a green light” to ship 9,000 advanced optics to Ukraine, including thermal binoculars and night vision goggles.
On April 30, Fedorov tweeted:
One more batch of equipment funded by @_AidForUkraine: 150 advanced riflescopes sent to the East frontline. In total, over 60 days of the war, we purchased 2,044 smart optics for Ukrainian Army. You donate — Army deoccupy. Last win: Ruska Lozova, Kharkiv region.
The previous batch of ATN scopes had arrived earlier the same month.
“We continue to tell you how the Kuna cryptocurrency fund helps us to defend our Ukraine from occupiers. This time, we have provided our intelligence, National Guard officers, and towns from war-affected regions with 1,500 digital sights X-sight LTV 3–9 for a total of $825,000,” Fedorov tweeted on April 5.
More recently, on May 4, we learned more night vision equipment had been unboxed in Ukraine, this time by agents from the State Border Guard Service.
“31 thermal imagers will help the State Border Service @DPSU_ua to defend our land. During over 60 days of the war, the crypto fund @_AidForUkraine purchased 5,307 optical and thermal imaging devices for military. Smart optics today — big victory tomorrow,” Fedorov tweeted, attaching a photo of a border guard using a ThOR 4 scope.
One of nicest part of this story is that the donations made to support Ukraine’s army came via Fedorov’s ministry came as the crypto wagon came down the other side of the roller coaster.
As fear and interest rates spike, investors have been selling off their positions and billions of dollars are being erased from the industry. The bursting of the crypto bubble seems quite reminiscent of the dot-com bubble of 2000 that reverberated throughout the economy, wiping out retail investors and pulling down business investment.
If the crypto bubble popping were the only thing happening in Kyiv these days, I don’t think a recession would even be noticed, because it’s not even close to the only (or even the most important) thing happening right now, which is fascist Russia’s genocidal campaign in Ukraine.
That’s why photographs of boxes and boxes of night vision gear being held by Ukrainian soldiers with blurry faces is a welcome sight.
Thanks to ATN, Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Ministry and crypto donations, we’ll at least be able to see what we’re shooting at in the dark.
