In less than two days, Czechs raised 12.6 million crowns to purchase a Ukrainian-made Flamingo cruise missile. The crowdfunding drive was launched Tuesday by the group Dárek pro Putina (“A Gift for Putin”). By Thursday, the campaign website showed the target had been met.
Organizers say the missile will be named DANA1 in honor of nuclear physicist Dana Drábová, who died in early October. She was a strong supporter of Ukraine.
“We hoped to raise this amount in a week. It happened in 48 hours — a record. It exceeded all our expectations,” campaign organizer Martin Ondráček told the newspaper Novinky.
Asked whether another campaign for a second missile is planned, Ondráček said he is “entering the next round of negotiations with the manufacturer,” adding there is a preliminary agreement that could be a “big surprise” for donors. He did not share further details.
“Ukraine has developed its own missile capable of reaching Moscow (3,000 kilometers), and we asked whether we could purchase it and name it after Dana Drábová. They agreed and calculated a price specifically for this campaign,” organizers said.
One of the missiles will therefore carry the name DANA1. After payment, it will be handed over to the Ukrainian military; Kyiv will determine when and where it is used.
According to the organizers, about 5 million crowns came in during the first 24 hours, surpassing 9 million by the 40-hour mark. The target of 12.5 million crowns was ultimately reached very quickly.
This summer, Dárek pro Putina raised 60 million crowns (about €2.4 million) to buy six D-30 howitzers for the Ukrainian army.
Currently, Fire Point is producing two to three Flamingo cruise missiles per day.
