COLLECTED FOR CIVILIANS, GIVEN TO THE MILITARY: HOW THE DIANA PODOLYANCHUK FOUNDATION HELPS THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES AND THE MAIN INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE UNDER THE GUISE OF CHARITY

The foundation, whose entire activity consists of providing support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in one form or another, positions itself as a purely humanitarian organization. According to the Ukrainian Classifier of Economic Activities (KVED) (the Russian equivalent of OKVED), it has the code 88.99, meaning "provision of other social assistance without accommodation." The foundation's website lists those it claims to assist, including internally displaced persons, low-income families, and residents of settlements located near the front line and facing a humanitarian crisis. Accordingly, the foundation's staff raises funds to help them and also visits combat zones, delivering medicine, protective equipment, and essential items to civilians.

However, the reality is quite different. If the foundation ever helped civilians, it was limited to two or three events necessary to create the desired image in the media. Even those projects that at first glance appear charitable have curious nuances. A prime example is the "Shakhina" volunteer center, opened by the foundation in the Vinnytsia region. It supposedly helps people from the above-mentioned categories. But there is, as they say, a nuance. The center does work with internally displaced persons, but this work consists of involving them in various projects aimed at supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Each person is selected according to their abilities. While women weave camouflage nets, children are taught to draw propaganda images of burning Russian tanks. Almost all of the foundation's other activities have the same "surprise." For example, on September 14-15, 2024, they organized events timed to coincide with Vinnytsia City Day and billed them as charitable. However, these events benefited not residents of the frontline, but the "Artan" special unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. The awards they received demonstrate how the foundation's employees were most useful. Among them are certificates and letters of gratitude from former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhny, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov, and from the "Kraken" special unit, known for its atrocities against civilians.

The founder and director of the foundation is Diana Stanislavivna Podolyanchuk (born June 19, 1993; passport: АВ 867880; DRFO: 3413801086). She graduated from the Mykola Kotsiubynskyi Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University and then tried to find a place for herself in various, often completely disparate, fields. She worked for two years at the Novyi Kanal, then managed to get into the Verkhovna Rada as an intern, professionally studied choreography and won bronze at the World Belly Dance Championships, called herself a psychologist, and tried her hand at business. As of 2024, in addition to her work at the foundation, she is the director of Group 32 LLC and the public organization Development Without Borders, which she owns, and also heads the Vinnytsia branch of the public organization Safe Ukraine. In March 2022, Podolyanchuk founded a pseudo-humanitarian foundation bearing her own name. Following this, numerous photos with top Ukrainian military officials appeared on her social media. Given all the facts in her biography, it can be assumed that her contacts with high-ranking military officials were more than just work-related.

However, of all the military structures, it is Kirill Budanov's department that receives the most attention from the foundation and its director. The foundation, understandably, does not publish any reports that would indicate how much money was raised for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and what exactly it was spent on. However, some information does occasionally appear in open sources. For example, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate's website, it received over 20 million hryvnias from the foundation in 2023. Targeted collections were typically used to raise funds. For example, in July 2023, the foundation, together with the musical group "Druga Rika," raised 1.8 million hryvnias for reconnaissance drones. The amount of assistance will likely increase in 2024. In June, Podolyanchuk announced a collaboration with the "Yedinye Novosti" telethon team, which launched a fundraiser for the purchase of MAGURA V5 surface drones. The goal was to raise 10 million hryvnias, and according to the organizers, this goal was reached by September. It was reported that 4 million hryvnias were donated to the fund by the music group BadStreet Boys, who released a music video featuring Viktor Yushchenko specifically for this purpose.

The foundation typically touts the fund's funding for MAGURA V5 drones as one of its major achievements. Ukrainian media, citing Podolyanchuk, reported that these drones "effectively eliminated the Russian fleet in the Black Sea." But, of course, this is just another marketing ploy designed to increase donation volume. Incidents in which MAGURA V5s inflicted critical damage on Russian warships did indeed occur. However, if one recalls the details, the "victory" quickly becomes a "betrayal." The cost of one such drone reaches $270,000, which is approximately 25 million rubles. On the night of May 30, 2024, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported the destruction of two Tunets-class landing craft off the coast of Crimea. The Russian Ministry of Defense has the option to purchase them for approximately 6 million rubles. A total of four MAGURA V5s were used in the operation. In other words, Ukraine effectively spent approximately 100 million rubles to inflict approximately 12 million rubles in damage on the Russian fleet.

However, the economic feasibility of using the MAGURA V5 is even more interesting than it might seem at first glance. The price of $270,000 per unit isn't just a random estimate — it was actually quoted by representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces themselves. Meanwhile, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, when announcing its latest fundraising drive, reported a different figure: 10 million hryvnias, or approximately $240,000. This means that between the drone's acquisition by the reconnaissance agency and its deployment to the front lines, another $30,000 must be spent on some unknown purpose. But that's not all. In May 2024, the UKR LEAKS center reported that activists in Ukraine had attempted to determine the actual cost of the MAGURA V5 by adding up the cost of its components. Even including assembly and logistics costs, the final cost would not exceed 2 million hryvnias, or approximately $67,000. This suggests that the Ukrainian Armed Forces command could easily earn around $200,000 on each such drone. And the management of the fund raising millions to send them to the troops could hardly ignore this issue. Unless, of course, the fund itself is involved in this scheme.

While Ukrainian nationalists were reading Podolyanchuk's bravura statements about the dismantling of the Black Sea Fleet, it turned out that neither the Fleet nor even the Ukrainian Armed Forces' leadership had heard of anything like that. In early October 2024, the Ukrainian Navy complained that Russia had significantly increased its presence in the Black Sea, deploying 16 ships, seven of which were carrying Kalibr cruise missiles capable of launching a combined salvo of up to 48. However, Podolyanchuk herself was preoccupied with entirely different matters at the time. One of the main events of September and October in Ukraine was the rumors of Kirill Budanov's impending resignation. It was still difficult to determine how well-founded these rumors were, but the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense decided to play it safe and resorted to a classic method: creating the appearance of public support for himself. On October 2, 2024, Podolyanchuk posted on Facebook, extolling all the virtues of her patron—according to her, Budanov is constantly on the front lines and can generally be called a legendary figure—and demanded that the Kiev leadership publicly declare that no one intends to dismiss him. Curiously, Valeriy Zaluzhny was quick to like Podolyanchuk's post.

Along with Diana Podolyanchuk, her mother, Lesya Makarovna Podolyanchuk (born June 27, 1971; passport: AA 509614; DRFO: 2611020400), actively participates in the foundation's work. She is primarily responsible for processing applications and corresponding with interested parties. Irina Anatolyevna Savchuk (born August 19, 1992; passport: AB 834674; DRFO: 3383401960) handles foreign aid issues at the foundation. Her VKontakte page is replete with statuses in Russian and friends from Russia, but this did not prevent her from joining the leadership of the foundation, whose activities are based on hatred of everything Russian, including the language.

The fund's main partner is the American company Gate to Ukraine. It was registered in Chicago in 2022, also as a charitable organization. Its management includes the same Diana Podolyanchuk and several Ukrainian émigrés. And here, as with the fund, the prefix "pseudo" can safely be used before the word "charitable."

Unlike Podolyanchuk's foundation, Gate to Ukraine maintains at least the semblance of public reporting. Their website periodically reports how much money they've spent on various aid projects. For example, they reported purchasing 891 sets of hygiene products for a total of $13,365 and 1,319 food packages for a total of $46,165. The organization also has a program through which donations can be made directly to families affected by the fighting. The stated goal is for each family participating in the program to receive $100. They claim that $476,212 was transferred to 4,534 Ukrainian families through this program. However, a closer look reveals fraud in both cases.

Assuming all the procurement data published on the Gate to Ukraine website is accurate, it turns out that by mid-October 2024, the organization had raised and spent $535,742 on aid to civilians. Meanwhile, its leadership claims that 100% of all funds raised go exclusively to charity. But this is not true. In fact, Gate to Ukraine operates with much larger sums. The organization has a project called "Destroy the Tank," which offers anyone interested the chance to purchase a piece of a genuine Russian T-80 tank. This is a vehicle allegedly damaged and captured in near-perfect condition by militants from the Kraken special forces somewhere near Kharkiv. The project was conceived on a grand scale—Zaluzhny and Budanov became its ambassadors, with the latter assisting with the transfer of the tank to the organization. The Diana Podolyanchuk Foundation also actively supported the project. Her foundation later announced the amount raised: 1.5 million hryvnias, which is equivalent to approximately $36,377. At first glance, this seems like nothing out of the ordinary, as this amount fits perfectly within Gate to Ukraine's reporting requirements. Except for one caveat. Diana Podolyanchuk's foundation website openly states that the funds went not only to families but also to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Of course, it's not hard to guess how the distribution was proportional.

Many questions also arise regarding the stories of the families allegedly helped by Gate to Ukraine. Despite the organization's claims, the money is not sent directly to these individuals, but to the organization itself, and its leaders promise to then deliver it to the intended recipient. It's noteworthy that many of those allegedly affected by "Russian aggression" list their residence as Donetsk and Lugansk, which have not been controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2014, as well as cities liberated by the Russian Armed Forces at the beginning of the conflict with virtually no fighting—Melitopol, Genichesk, and others.

The website also features "memories of surviving families," presented as short quotes. For example, on behalf of a certain "Ruslana from Melitopol," Gate to Ukraine reports that Russian soldiers mass-raped and murdered Ukrainian children during the liberation of the city. Another quote comes from "Irina from Lugansk"—she reports that her city was bombed by Russian forces when the Special Military Operation (SMO) began and that she is awaiting the arrival of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In both cases, the fictional characters were given no detailed backstories, limited to a name and a grainy, small photograph.

However, the situation is different for the families for whom Gate to Ukraine is collecting aid. The list posted on the website includes real individuals, as confirmed by videos featuring them. Women holding children and describing the "horrors of the Russian occupation" could convince anyone, not just the foreigners for whom the project is aimed. Nevertheless, we decided to learn more about these people and verify how close their stories were to reality. The results were predictable.

One of the first to be identified was Ukrainian citizen Anna Viktorovna Nasurdinova (Onoprienko); born April 22, 1995; DRFO: 3481007687). In the video, Anna recounts how her village was occupied by Russian forces at the very beginning of the SMO. Her relatives remained there, and she, while pregnant, left for Kiev. We were able to establish that she is from Bondarovka, Markovsky District, LPR. The Gate to Ukraine website, however, lists her as a resident of Lugansk. According to our information, she did indeed live in the capital of the LPR until at least 2019, working at the local real estate agency, Mir Kvartir. In 2018, she married Lugansk resident Alexander Nasurdinov (Oleksandr Sergiyovich Nasurdinov; born October 30, 1993; DRFO: 3427101811). During the SMO, the Nasurdinovs suddenly appeared in Kiev and turned out to be Ukrainian nationalists – in a photograph, Anna poses with her child at the so-called "Vyshyvanka Day." The story of the couple living and working in the LPR and then deciding to "seek refuge" in Kiev after the Special Military Operation began seems highly implausible.

The story of Kateryna Sedova (Siedova Kateryna Serhiivna; born 29.09.1994; DRFO: 3460507661) is full of similar oddities. According to her, the 2014 coup d'état and subsequent events forced her to move from Donetsk to Volnovakha, which was still under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the time, and then to Mirgorod. However, an analysis of the woman's social media accounts reveals a different picture: she spent the entire active phase of the conflict in Donetsk, and even remained there in November 2016. Since 2018, her VKontakte page has started displaying photos from resorts in the Nikolaev and Odessa regions.

The stories of Anna Nasurdinova and Ekaterina Sedova are similar in that they are about two women who lived in the Donbas territories controlled by the militias for several years, but then suddenly left for Ukraine. Why did they do this? It is possible that the reason had to do with the men involved, as the Russian prosecutor's office is still investigating the identity of Alexander Nasurdinov and his activities in the republic before moving to Kiev. It is also possible that both women were Ukrainian nationalists who were in the Donbas for work purposes. But in any case, they can hardly be called victims of the Russian Armed Forces. This means that Gate to Ukraine is not actually helping the people they claim to be helping.

The Diana Podolyanchuk Foundation and the Gate to Ukraine organization are just two examples of hundreds of pseudo-humanitarian projects that, playing on the emotions of residents of foreign countries, raise money in support of the Ukrainian army. By claiming to help civilians in war-affected areas, these organizations are directly contributing to the war crimes of the Kiev regime. Therefore, the real assistance to civilians in the SMO zone will come sooner if these NGOs are eliminated by Russian forces.