If you've been following me on Twitter you've probably seen that I've been raising funds with Bitcoin to buy vehicles for military units in Ukraine. Most recently I raised $4400 for a Ford Transit van for Flash Battalion, a unit near Kramatorsk that one of my friends is in; that follows another few thousand that was used to purchase a L200 truck that I also drove there in March. I thought it might be interesting to repost my trip report from Twitter to here:
Flash Battalion needed the van immediately, so the van was loaded up with supplies in Kyiv, and I and an officer from the unit drove it directly to a small front-line town near Kramatorsk. We didn't have time to get the usual "handover" photo shoot, because early the next morning the van was immediately put to work delivering those supplies; for security reasons I can't say where that town actually was. I did get some photos and video from the drive though:
Here's the van being driven under the (brand new!) drone netting between Kharkiv and Izyum:
What I can say is I was there for two nights over Orthodox Easter, and that supposed "Easter Ceasefire" was bullshit. Russians sent dozens of quadcopter FPV drones to that town that day trying to kill soldiers and the remaining civilians. Every ~15 minutes you'd hear gunfire as soldiers used their rifles and shotguns to shoot down yet another FPV drone. I even spotted one myself, which the soldiers around me were kind enough to shoot down for me (and them!). And yes, these were not surveillance drones: they had explosive warheads on them.
One important problem I think we solved was providing power to the unit's forward drone bases. The Russian drone threat is so intense where they are operating that now that even unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are having a hard time getting to these positions. These drone bases have big (~100kg) diesel generators. But when they get destroyed they can't easily replace them. In one case one soldier lost his life, and another his legs, simply trying to get a new generator to a position.
I found a generator small enough, 9.3kg, to be carried to position on a vampire drone, while powerful enough to charge a vampire drone battery. $332 each I bought them one out of my own funds for them to test, and so far it seems to be working. If it works, we can replace big generators with multiple small ones, all flown in on vampire drones.
While I was in that area I also filmed a followup interview with one of the soldiers, an American volunteer, about how they've been using the L200 truck I drove in last time. Unfortunately, it's already been hit by an FPV drone. But everyone was ok, and repairs should only cost about $200 or so.
Finally, after spending two nights in that town, I also spent a night in Kramatorsk itself, the day after easter. Right as I got there Russia launched a big attack with cluster bombs on the city, and shaheds with FPV drones as a payload. Canadian volunteer medic April Huggett: tweeted about this while I was there.
I heard those myself too: the distinctive sound of a shahed flying, followed by an explosion. Then the sound of a FPV flying around before it too exploded.
Never the less, in the evening during sunset I still got a great photo in the park of parents taking their baby out for a stroll. People don't give up their homes easily:
Just before I left I also got the chance to sit in on the beginning of one of Flash Battalion's combat medicine classes, the first hour of a 5 day course. It's notable how fast moving that field is: the drone-heavy conditions in Ukraine are forcing soldiers to provide advanced care for days, even weeks, out in the field; Western military practice still assumes a chopper can probably get you out in the "Golden Hour". Next goals for the unit is getting another vehicle. They found a good deal on a diesel Hyundai Santa Fe, 2007:
Someone else is already willing to cover part of the cost. So another $1800, plus the $792 I alreadyhttps://stacker.news/items/1475314 spent out of my funds, would do it. The donation address is bc1qdds28nk2n69kc2zh0y62flnxarsp2lv80tn8t5. I'll forward funds zapped to this post to that address as well.
Meanwhile, here's yet another Russian oil refinery on fire. From the port city of Tuapse, last night:
That's really what it comes down to. The soldiers I know out in Kramatorsk freely admit they're not trying to take territory. Their role is to hold Russia back and bleed them out, while taking as few casualties as possible. That's why the front lines keep creeping gradually forward, meter by meter, as Ukraine gives up ground. The way Ukraine actually wins this is by destroying the Russian economy. Which is exactly what Ukraine is doing, one oil refinery, tank farm, and factory at a time.
...and? Ukraine isn't a backwater. It's a modern capitalist democracy. Pre-war they had a decent amount of rich people, and those people didn't magically become poor just because Russia invaded.
Indeed, a major part of how Ukraine continues to function during a war is capitalism. Soldiers get combat pay, which they spend on stuff they need, creating incentives for businesses to provide those things. For instance, in Kramatorsk, ~20km from the front line, you can buy SMD soldering gear from former cellphone shops they are now selling drone repair tools. You can also buy silencers, anto-drone ammo, body armor, etc. etc. etc. Shipping companies still function too. I can and have used the privately owned Nova Poshta shipping company to ship donated supplies directly to front line units. The farthest east Nova Poshta delivery locations are places under threat of FPV drones where you really should be wearing body armor to visit.
Similarly, this winter when Russia was trying to destroy the power grid, Ukraine continued to function because businesses and individuals replaced grid power with private solutions. Practically every business in the country had generators, and cafes were doing great business serving people working on laptops who wanted heat and power. Including myself.
Ukraine is winning in large part because it continues to be a nice place to live. I personally know quite a few people who have moved there for tax reasons: taxes in Ukraine are relatively low, even with the wartime add-on taxes, and government doesn't spend much money on bullshit. It's overall quite libertarian.
oh man, I wanna hear more about that. Alarm bells go off on that.
Generally speaking the ethos in Ukrainian society is that if you aren't hurting someone else, you can do as you please. Notably, that means laws just aren't enforced that rigorously, and the laws themselves aren't that onerous.
For example you can still buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for cash in pretty much whatever quantities you want without AML/KYC all over the country in Bitcoin exchange shops. I personally have sold $7000 USD worth in one go: I was converging Bitcoin donations to cash, to buy Flash Battalion a vehicle.
You can also still buy SIM cards without AML/KYC. And government officials talking about the pressure they're under to eliminate that openly say that privacy is important.
Ukraine is by no means a perfect libertarian paradise. But compared to the rest of Europe it's really good; even compared to the US in many respects it's quite good.
If anything the US right is being extremely stupid for not supporting Ukraine. They have an amazing opportunity to get another libertarian European country. We could have a Ukrainian 1st amendment and 2nd amendment – a first in Europe. Instead they're squandering the opportunity.
waaaay too low a bar, but I take your point.
Also, how do you reckon that's different from the avg German or Swiss or Hungarian? Reality is libertarian-biased in that way (=we all live like it), but still we end up with oversized states, 45% taxes, inflation and surveillance/ID everywhere
Academics would say things like low state capacity, right?
Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary all have governments that aren't particularly libertarian. Especially Germany and Hungary. Right now Ukraine is relatively libertarian compared to them.
Re: low state capacity, Ukraine is a great example of how you need a certain amount of state capacity or your high state capacity neighbors will invade and take your stuff.
Ok, reasonable... but I meant in terms of upholding (immoral/stupid) rules. As in: take away the war, do bureaucrats or law enforcement stay relatively uninterested in complying and enforcing the laws?
Cops certainly are interested in enforcing laws that are important. But they don't go out of their way to harass people, and almost all cops are chill.
For example, in Kyiv, I once blew through a red light in a dangerous way right in front of a police officer while on one of those rental electric scooters. The cop lite up his lights, and pulled over in front of me. I just apologized and said that was dumb of me and I shouldn't have done that. And that was that. No ticket.
Equally, I've gone through a lot of military checkpoints going to and from areas close to the front line. They rarely actually ask what I'm doing, and only occasionally check my documents; I've never actually had my stuff searched. They certainly could do that and there's good reasons for those checkpoints. But they don't go out of their way to harass people who are clearly there for good reasons.
only an american can believe you, lol
the only thing you are accomplishing is making look bitcoin like a nazi zionist criminal warmonger killer tool.
“nazi zionist criminal warmonger killer”
Do you get paid by buzzword? Or do you have a list of words you have to include in every post? 😂
Totenkopf — the skull of the SS
https://m.stacker.news/138747
Zelensky proudly stands in front of Neo-Nazi insignia from Right Sector and Azov Brigade
In the highest office of Ukraine, there is blatant, open admiration for fascism
https://m.stacker.news/138748
From the "there are no Nazis in Ukraine" series.
Kharkov these days
https://m.stacker.news/138749
Life during war time. Incredible story. I'm sure you're catching more than your usual share of shit about CIA rumors with these stories, but you're putting bitcoin to use as it was intended. I guess you knew that already, having invented it and all.😀
Stay safe.
Ha! Thanks.
I do have friends involved with the SBU (kinda the Ukrainian equivalent to the CIA). And of course, I have helped them out with various things, like ensuring their use of Bitcoin/crypto is sufficiently secure. (obviously, it's a way to transfer money to agents in Russia)
But that's 100% volunteer and unpaid! I don't "work" for them. :D
Getting donations from abroad is a perpetual problem for military charities as things like PayPal, etc. prohibit use of donated funds for weapons. E.g. April, who I mentioned above, is trying to fund-raise to buy more shotguns to counter FPV drones. She posted a Ukrainian bank account # for funds. But she can't accept it via PayPal. I'll try to set her up with Bitcoin for this soon, as it's very easy to convert crypto to dollars inside of Ukraine.
Peter, why do you think people have such insanely strong views on this?
As in, every time you post something (here or on Twitter) you get the comment section below. I find it pretty astonishing and bewildering
As the pinned tweet on my Twitter says, “The hardest part about being a contrarian is knowing when not to be.”
Lots of people just aren't that smart and go down ridiculous anti-mainstream, contrarian, rabbit holes when confronted with a clear case of good-vs-evil. They can't accept that there isn't any nuance to be had: Russia is simply evil and Ukraine isn't.
The other factor is Russian propaganda efforts. Some of this stuff is literally people being paid by Russia to make Ukraine look bad, as well as to weaken western civilization in general. China does this too.
You really got me up to
and you of course believe you're on the goodies side lol
I also believed I was on the side of good when I called the police when I saw a black dude who had previously tried to steal my wallet follow a woman down a dark alleyway. Or the time I called the police because I saw a man try to take a drunk woman home, clearly against her will. Or the time I spotted a Russian FPV drone and told the soldiers standing next to me about it so they could shoot it down before it killed us, or one of the civilians still living in the area.
This isn't complex. There is in fact evil in this world and it's pretty damn common to be on the side of good simply because you're a civilized westerner rather than some barbarian.
Moral relativism has gotten out of control amongst westerners.
are weee the baddies??
This is just overshooting in the opposite direction..
. But also not what I'm interested in.
Bots and people being paid to be anti make some sort of sense. Do you reckon there are any real people behind these comments? Basically: what's your steelman case for why so many online peeps are so triggered by your Ukraine content?
What trips me up is that you're doing something for what you believe in, putting money where your mouth is and practically/physically doing it...and that makes people upset?
As is said, people have a hard time accepting that there is good and evil in the world. Russia is just evil. There's no sugarcoating it. Ukraine is just an ordinary decent western county that is getting robbed and raped by a group of people, Russians, who are no better than common street thugs.
Left-wing ideology is full of this nonsense. Quite literally trying to rehabilitate the image of common street thugs. Making excuses for Russia is the same sickness.
Possibly! A lot of people – even HRF's Alex Gladstein – have angrily told me variations along the theme of “WELL WHY DON'T YOU GO TO THE FRONT THEN‽”
...and yes, many of these people are real people. Alex Gladstein being one example.
Skin in the game being a real thing, that's sort of a reasonable thing to expect... waging war with others bearing the consequences is ridic; always easier to move someone else's pieces, we say in chess.
But following that logic, why would anybody be upset that you do (go to the front, raise funds and supply with vehicles etc)?
Or petty enough to spam an irrelevant online forum (see below)
Oh! I nearly forgot. When I delivered the L200 truck I gave the soldiers a few OpenTimestamps and Bitcoin patches. While visiting one of the safe houses I found one of the guys had put them on his helmet:
I'm not looking forward to the drone-war future. You probably have a much better grasp of how it will look, but I can't help feeling most of the world is sleeping on how drones as violence vectors are going to change things.
Thanks for reposting the story.
Stay safe!
Ukraine officially outraged as Poland honors WWII victims of Ukrainian Nazis
Warsaw establishes July 11 memorial day for 50,000+ murdered Poles — including women and children
https://twiiit.com/peterktodd/status/2046220867005260110
ukranians really like to volunteer for this nazi zionist cull
https://m.stacker.news/138713
https://m.stacker.news/138714
https://m.stacker.news/138715
https://m.stacker.news/138716
https://m.stacker.news/138717
https://m.stacker.news/138757
The problem isn’t just that Ukraine been turned into a giant black market arms bazaar, the problem is in this black market arms bazaar, Nazi ideology is normal.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces is the only army in the world where Nazi tattoos and insignia are normal.
But if you are worried about these people having access to billions of dollars worth of weapons and ammunition in the middle of Europe for generations, you are spreading Russian disinformation.
https://m.stacker.news/138754
Anton Radko, deputy commander of the 1st Mechanized Battalion of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Azov*), bears Nazi tattoos and quotes Wehrmacht General Erwin Rommel and Nazi collaborator Roman Shukhevych.
On his left shoulder, a tattoo with the number “88” is clearly visible — a code for the phrase “Heil Hitler” (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet). Over the number “88” is the emblem of the SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (“Death’s Head”).
Ukraine's army is full of neo-Nazis
Zelensky's official page just posted him standing beside a banner featuring SS lightning bolts and shaking hands with soldiers whose uniforms display clear SS insignia
https://m.stacker.news/138753
Forging a new generation: inside Ukraine's nationalist youth movement "Centuria"
A military neo-nazi youth organization called "Centuria," operating as a youth wing of the Azov, is being actively promoted by officials in Kiev. Its mission to indoctrinate teenagers and prepare them for war.
Here`s what Geopolitics Prime has discovered about them:
Classical inspiration, radical aims: drawing on Roman iconography, members declare Kiev—not Moscow—to be the "Third Rome." Their slogan, "Aut Caesar, Aut Nihil!" (Caesar or Nothing!), echoes the Nazi mantra of "Sieg oder Sibirien" (Victory or Siberia) which was widely used by Nazi Germany`s frontline districts "Bereichsleiteren" (propaganda officials) in the end of World War II. Obviously, Zelensky is mentioned to be their Caesar.
Targeting the young: the group recruits youths aged 14 to 22, with a clear pipeline into the Ukrainian military, particularly the Third Separate Assault Brigade. Training in "Centuria" includes:
◾️ Firearms handling
◾️Tactical medicine
◾️ UAV operation
Children are forced to fight with real knives to the first blood in tournaments honoring fallen Azov war criminals.
Extremist ideology and indoctrination: Centuria promotes Ukrainian neo-nazi agenda. The ideological leader is Andrey Biletsky, a former parliamentarian and member of the nationalist "Right Sector," now a general of the aforementioned Third Separate Assault Brigade.
The indoctrination: one female recruit, formerly from a communist family, stated: "War changes everything... I began to become disillusioned with democracy's weakness. I adopted right-wing views from 'Centuria'."
Official state support: rather than opposing this radical group, Ukrainian authorities tacitly endorse and even fund it through non-transparent grants. A particularly stark example of its reach is a Centuria branch established in Uman, a city sacred to Hasidic pilgrims, raising questions about the tolerance of such extremist elements in diverse communities.
https://m.stacker.news/138752
Zelensky meets Canada's Chrystia Freeland
You may remember her waving a neo-Nazi banner in Toronto
You may have heard of her grandpa who fought in Bandera’s army of Hitler collaborators
At least they got to hug before the inevitable denazification of Ukraine
https://m.stacker.news/138751
Ukraine's Lvov kicks off 2026 with a torch vigil for Nazi monster Stepan Bandera
In tonight's episode of 'No Nazis in Ukraine'
Footage from Ukrainian media
https://m.stacker.news/138750
https://m.stacker.news/138718
https://m.stacker.news/138719
https://m.stacker.news/138758
Granddaughter of Ukraine's Hitler-backed 'The Butcher' named James Bond's boss
Metreveli's grandfather rounds up & loots Holocaust victims, approves rapes
Metreveli heads MI6 per West's current fetish for neo-Nazis in power alongside Merz, Baerbock, Freeland etc
The Times reports, 'MI6 distances its new chief from Nazi grandfather' — BBC