Membership platform Patreon appears to have taken down a website that collects donations for Ukrainian soldiers. The fundraising charity was said to be distributing medical kits and body armor to the army.
According to the reports, the startup suspended the fundraising site that the non-profit built in 2014.
The director of this Kyiv-based foundation said that the last time that they received money from the Patreon page was way back in August 2021.
Patreon Deletes Ukraine-based Charity Site
In an interview with CNBC, "Come Back Alive" foundation director Taras Chmut said that for several months, the organization only received small donation amounts.
Following the invasion of Russia in Ukraine on Wednesday, Feb. 23, more than $300,000 were donated.
However, some people noticed that the "Come Back Alive" charity site on Patreon was removed since when they visited it, all they saw was the "This page has been removed" message.
At that time, Chmut tested if he could access the account of the foundation to check if he could transfer money for the payment of the equipment. He added that they already reached out to Patreon via email regarding this case.
Immediately, Patreon responded to the news site that they indeed banned the Ukraine-based website which helps soldiers.
"Patreon does not allow any campaigns involved in violence or purchasing of military equipment, regardless of their cause. We are investigating because of representations on their donation page for how the funds will be used," a Patreon spokesperson answered CNBC via an emailed statement.
The company representative added that they have withheld the ongoing charitable campaign as they continued to investigate the matter.
In case the Patreon donation page is removed, there are only two things that could happen. It's either the remaining funds will be sent to the creator or all the pledges could be refunded.
Related Article: Patreon CEO Has No Idea Why Their Platform is Exempted From Apple Payment Processing Rules--No 30% App Store Commission?
Ukraine Begins Mobilization Effort
In another report related to Ukraine, France24 confirmed that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced the country's general mobilization on Friday midnight, Feb. 25.
Amid the ongoing crisis between it and Russia, Zelensky took notice of people's safety in the war-ravaged cities.
He also said that they would resist the invasion that Russia started. With that, there would be a "new iron curtain" that will set it apart from other places globally.
Aside from the loss of lives and properties, Ukraine was also worried about the DDoS cyberattacks that were happening.
Over the past weeks, Tech Times reported that Ukraine suspected Russia's involvement in this wide-scale breach. At that time, the official military website of the country remained inaccessible.
In another article from the same tech site, US President Joe Biden announced the sanctions that Russia could face in the West. Two sources who were familiar with the matter said that an FBI official has an important warning on business owners and governments.
According to the report, ransomware attacks could be widespread as tensions in Europe intensify.
Read Also: Russia-Ukraine Invasion Map Uses Twitter Post Updates! Here's How CIR's Tech Works and How To Use It
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
