Lithuanian journalist and social media personality Andrius Tapinas has launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy a Bayraktar TB2 military drone for Ukraine.
“The defence ministries of Lithuania and Turkey gave the green light, the manufacturer said yes. And now one word is sounding in my head, Bayraktar,” Tapinas said in a Facebook post on May 25, inviting his followers to donate.
Manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar, the drones have been used by the Ukrainian military in defence against the Russian invasion. In early May, a missile launched from a Bayraktar TB2 destroyed a Russian landing ship near the Zmiyiniy Island in the Black Sea.
“The Ukrainian dagger in the night. The assassin of the Russian army. An unmanned tactical combat aircraft that carries laser-guided high-precision bombs and long-range air-to-ground anti-tank missiles. In Ukraine’s war, Bayraktars have already destroyed Russian command posts, tanks and missile launchers,” Tapinas wrote.
Tagged #bayraktarasUkrainai, the campaign aims to raise 5 million euros in three weeks. Tapinas’ own media company, Laisves TV, will contribute 62,000 euros left from earlier Ukraine support campaigns, he said. (LRT/Business World Magazine)