FLASH
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When Tymofii Postoiuk and his friends launched an online fundraising effort for Ukraine, donations began pouring in from around the world, helping to purchase basic equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As the war with Russia continued and war fatigue set in, donations began to dwindle, but the money continued to flow in regularly and without interruption. Then, on October 7, war broke out between Israel and Hamas, the radical Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the US. With the start of another major conflict, social media, including X, was flooded with news from the Middle East.
" Our fundraising posts and updates just get lost in those tweets," Postoiuk said.
The world has turned its attention from Ukraine to the fighting in the Gaza Strip, which worries Ukrainians. They fear that world fatigue, political agendas and limited resources will mean less aid for their military, weakening their country's ability to withstand a war with Russia.
"The more we keep talking about our war, the less interest people will have," said 21-year-old Ivan Mahuriak, who lives in Lviv, western Ukraine.
The fatigue, he said, comes from the fact that the dynamics on the ground are much smaller than in 2022, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to completely or partially drive Russian forces out of some regions.
"In some countries, there is still a front line. But this does not mean that nothing is happening" , he said.
His brother, two cousins, several colleagues and friends are part of the Ukrainian army fighting the Russian troops.
This year's counteroffensive, which began in June, has progressed at a much slower pace as Ukrainian troops are struggling to dislodge the Russians, who have settled in the captured territories. Additional US support for Ukraine has been put at risk by political disputes in Washington, where the new war is taking center stage.
The divisions around Ukraine have also started in the European Union, which announced that it will not be able to send Kiev all the ammunition it had promised. At EU high-level meetings and summits, the focus is now on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has spoken about twinning and support for Israel and Ukraine, saying that both of these countries are vital to national security.
Biden's transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, visited Ukraine on Nov. 8 to show that American support for Kiev has not waned.
"The fact that I am here is a way to prove that, in addition to the great concerns and attention we have for what is happening in the Middle East, we have the attention, focus and commitment that we have always had for Ukraine," he said. that time.
But many Ukrainians are worried.
President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted at the beginning of November that he is tired of the war in Ukraine.
"Yes, many people in the world are tired, of course," Zelensky said.
Millions of Ukrainians feel burdened when they realize that the war that Russia started in their country will not end soon.
"No matter how scary it may sound, I am preparing myself for the fact that this fight will last my whole life," said Zoya Krasovska, a 34-year-old from Lviv.
Unlike 2022, when morale was high despite the lack of electricity, water and other services, this year Ukrainians face the frustration of a slow counteroffensive and a lack of sophisticated weaponry. Domestic politics have become a bigger focus.
Postoiuk, Netherlands-based manager for the Road to Ukraine foundation, said the team had expected the number of donations to drop, but not to this extent.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, it has taken them at least twice as long to raise the money to buy a car for the military, usually between $8,000 and $14,000.
Through their work, they have collected almost 147,000 dollars, money with which they have supported 13 brigades and are worth different vehicles for them.
For the first time in the history of this foundation, donations from within Ukraine have exceeded those from abroad, he emphasized.
Ivan Bezdudnyi, a 26-year-old from Kiev, is tired of the war in his country. In the past two years, he has documented war crimes committed by Russia. Little has changed for him personally since the start of the war.
He is not worried that the decline in interest will have an impact on the Ukrainian war for long.
"When the level of interest in Israel and Hamas declines, and I think it won't be long...the level of attention we used to receive will remain. Maybe not as big as in February or March of last year, but maybe higher than now", he said./ REL
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