The funds raised during the campaign organised by Blue/Yellow, LRT, and Laisvės TV will be allocated to air and land robot fleets – robotic defence, logistics, and medical evacuation systems.
Auctions were also held during the fundraising campaign – for EUR 60,000, the Aibė retail chain purchased a Ukrainian flag brought back by Blue/Yellow with the signature of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and another person purchased a Lithuanian flag with the signature of former President Dalia Grybauskaitė for EUR 13,000.
Donations to the Radarom campaign will be accepted for a few more days, until February 28.
Earlier, charity concerts entitled „Freedom Shines. Radarom“ were held in Vilnius and Kaunas, where well-known Lithuanian performers took to the stage and called on the audience to support Ukraine and make donations.
According to one of the organisers of this support campaign, journalist Edmundas Jakilaitis, these robots, for which the funds will be allocated, are one of the most modern technologies available today, allowing them to replace soldiers on the battlefield, deliver ammunition, food, and supplies, and evacuate the wounded.
„Today is a painful and cruel day, but at the same time, it is a great day that has shown that the small can stand up to the big, because the small can be great, and the big can be petty and despicable. This is a day that first and foremost testifies to unity,“ said Jakilaitis during the concert in Lukiškių Square.
Another organiser of the event, public figure Andrius Tapinas, emphasised that this anniversary is not a celebration, but a day of „death, mud, and shame for humanity“ because such wars are still going on in the world, because the defenders of Ukraine continue to die in the trenches, and because the country's inhabitants continue to suffer from the cold after Russia attacks its energy infrastructure.
„The Radarom campaign is extremely important, without a doubt, and these robots that we will buy for Ukraine's defenders will help us hold out. (...) Radarom will end tonight, but support for Ukraine does not end – there are many funds in Lithuania,“ Tapinas said on stage.
Jonas Ohman, Head of Blue/Yellow, appeared on stage with Oleg, a soldier fighting in Ukraine and defender of Kharkiv, who thanked everyone for supporting his country in its fight against the enemy.
„Oleg and his men destroyed the Russian attempt to invade Kharkiv on February 27, 2022. All the equipment they had, except for weapons, came from Lithuania. So, we are living proof that we are fighting, we are here, and we will continue to be here,“ said the leader of Blue/Yellow on stage.
To mark the 12th anniversary of the start of aggression against Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, 12 symbolic bonfires were also lit in Lukiškių Square.
A support campaign was also organised in Kaunas – in addition to the Radarom concert, more than fifty Kaunas residents participated in the Ukrainian support campaign „Light a candle for the fallen defenders of Ukrainian freedom“ on Laisvės Alėja.
During the event, a symbolic Ukrainian flag was made out of blue and yellow candles to honour all the fallen defenders of Ukrainian freedom and express solidarity with the struggling Ukrainian people.
A civil society march in solidarity with Ukraine, „Our flags are the flags of freedom!“, also took place in Vilnius.
Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.