Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi inherited USD 1 million from an American of Ukrainian origin, in January the General transferred these funds to the needs of the Ukrainian army.
This was reported by The New York Times and the BBC, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
In January, the General donated the entire amount received to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to The New York Times, American of Ukrainian origin Gregory (Hryhorii) Stepanets bequeathed the money to Zaluzhnyi.
Whether the will had a condition that the money should be transferred to the army, the newspaper does not specify.
As the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained to the BBC, Stepanets was not a relative of Zaluzhnyi, and the inheritance became symbolic and quite unexpected for the Commander-in-Chief gesture of the Ukrainian from the United States in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The New York Times spoke about the case with Zaluzhnyi in an article about the donations that Ukrainians give to the army.
The newspaper reports with reference to the National Bank of Ukraine that over the past year, residents and businesses of the country donated UAH 22.3 billion, or about USD 500 million, to the Armed Forces.
The press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the request of the BBC confirmed that the information presented in the New York Times is true.
It is noted that Zaluzhnyi directed this money in full to the special account of the National Bank of Ukraine to raise funds for the needs of the army, which was confirmed by the SWIFT message of the bank of January 5, 2023.
The General Staff also reports that, according to Zaluzhnyi, his family understood this decision.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in March 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that an anonymous American donor donated USD 1 million to the Ukrainian army.
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