“Every Breakthrough in Innovation Comes from Ukrainians,” Says British Volunteer

In 2022, Briton Richard Woodruff came to Ukraine as a volunteer. He initially planned to stay for three months and then return to sunny Spain, where he had been living. But Ukraine had other plans. Captivated by the country's spirit and resilience, Richard's short stay turned into a permanent commitment. He founded Front Line Kit, a volunteer organization building drones—for free—for the Ukrainian army.

"It's like Lego for adults," Richard explains, describing the bustling, secret workshop where his team assembles the drones. "We source components from a Ukrainian supplier, and our incredible team works in this long, spacious room—a space we keep strictly confidential—putting them together. Maria, she's amazing. She can build a kamikaze drone in an hour, and every single soldering point is perfect."

The process is streamlined and efficient: assemble, test, and deliver to the front lines. "It's surprisingly simple, as long as you know what you're doing," Richard says. "The real challenge is quality control. We have to ensure that what we send actually makes a difference for the troops." Six months of meticulous refinement, fueled by feedback from soldiers on the front lines, went into perfecting their drones.

Front Line Kit currently produces 250 drones a week, but their capacity is far greater. "We could be making thousands," Richard reveals, "but we're held back by funding. Crowdfunding for parts just can't keep up with the demand. That's our biggest hurdle right now."

Their work is vital. Front Line Kit is the largest drone supplier for the Achilles strike drone battalion—one of Ukraine's top three drone brigades, renowned for its destruction of Russian equipment—after the Ministry of Defense. "We're in constant communication with them," Richard says. "We provide this service free of charge because we believe in Ukraine’s victory."

Richard's voice turns more serious as he addresses the broader context of the war. "I think Western countries have become tired of this full-scale invasion. But I also believe they never provided enough support in the first place. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dead and wounded Ukrainians.. The West hasn't stood up to russia, and they're still not doing enough."

He continues, "Right now, every breakthrough in innovation is coming from Ukrainians. It's not thanks to Western military support."

Richard admits to feeling war fatigue himself, but his resolve remains unshaken. "Giving up isn't an option. We have to keep going." His initial compassion for the suffering he witnessed evolved into something more potent. "It turned into anger, an inability to simply focus on humanitarian aid. Justice had to be pursued. The deaths of Ukrainians had to be stopped. There's a huge difference between just supporting the military and actively helping to eliminate the invaders."