A Ukrainian businessman is turning the wreckage of a downed Russian fighter plane into souvenir keychains and selling the parts abroad to help Ukraine’s war effort.
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“A lot of my friends tell me: ‘A thousand dollars nobody gives you that for a piece of metal, that’s crazy,'” said Iurii Vysoven, founder of “Drones for Ukraine”.
- Ukrainians are offering parts of a Russian fighter jet to anyone who donates $1,000
- Ukraine releases video of Russian plane crashing in Kharkiv
“I woke up in the morning and found out on my phone that we’ve raised between $20,000 and $30,000 and we’re seeing this constant stream of messages from people asking questions and saying they want to donate more, they say us that it’s a great idea.”
The plane is a twoseat Russian Su34 fighterbomber which the Ukrainian army says it shot down over the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, in early March as Russian forces attempted to seize the region.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has released images of the wreckage of the aircraft numbered RF81251 and codenamed 31 Red.
1 of 1 image of a keychain made from Russian aircraft parts — Photo: Leonardo Benassatto/Reuters
Image of a keychain made from parts of a Russian plane — Photo: Leonardo Benassatto/Reuters
After the Russians withdrew and redirected their invasion efforts to eastern Ukraine, Vysoven asked defenders in the area if he could pick up some of the debris that was strewn around a farm.
The soldiers said the plane’s two pilots were killed. Among the wreckage shown by the ministry were a helmet painted in Russian with the last three letters of a surname ending in “NOV” and an empty leather holster marked “Buryat”, the name of an ethnic group living in Siberia.
Russia does not confirm the details of its military losses, and Reuters has not been able to verify the circumstances of the plane’s crash.
Vysonven, who works in advertising, has fourinch, elongated fuselage fragments that have been machined, polished, and inscribed with information about the aircraft and a thank you to the buyer. Each is perforated to accommodate a key ring and engraved with a unique serial number.
“The uniqueness of each keychain lies in the fact that we made it from the wreckage of a real Russian plane,” he said. “This is truly a unique gift to those who have helped us.”
Vysoven keeps a copy of the infrared thermal imaging drones in his office, which he buys with the money from the sale of keychains for the Ukrainian army.
“Now that we’ve raised a lot more money, we feel a lot more responsible,” he said. “My dream is that we don’t need this money anymore. My dream is to win when everyone is safe,” he added in English.
“Everyone goes home safely and we don’t have to raise money to save someone’s life,” he said.