Russian teachers have been asked to give up a part of their salaries and donate it to Russian soldiers invading Ukraine

rcohen@insider.com (Rebecca Cohen) - Yesterday

Russian soldiers, meanwhile, have been fleeing villages disguised as locals amid Ukraine's surprise counteroffensive in the Eastern European country's Kharkiv region. In some towns, Russian troops left behind so much ammo that Ukraine is struggling to handle it all.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine has retaken around 1,500 square miles of Ukraine back from Russia.

According to Important Stories, the teachers are unsure what their money will be spent on, with no guidance as to what the "Cultural Development of the Youth of Podolsk" supports.

A journalist at Important Stories wrote to one of the reported founders of the foundation asking specifically where the money will go.

"At the moment, the city administration is negotiating with the competent state authorities about how, where and to whom [to transfer the money]," Dmitry Nikolaev responded. "Once this has been decided, the purchase and shipment/delivery will take place."

Nikolaev added, according to Important Stories, that once the goods are shipped, the city will notify everyone who donated.

Thirty-three Russian regions have already pledged 4.8 billion rubles, Important Stories reported, but according to military expert Pavel Luzin, it still won't be enough.

"Now the practice will expand," he told Important Stories, "because there isn't much money in the budget."