Monday, June 13, 2022

As Russia destroys cultural sites in Ukraine, civilians are building digital 3D models to preserve them online

Hannah Getahun
Sun, June 12, 2022

MAKARIV, UKRAINE - 2022/06/11: Young girls ride a bike past a destroyed house in Makariv, west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, triggering the largest military attack in Europe since World War II.
(Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Ukrainian citizens are conserving national landmarks by using their phones to make digital recreations.

The initiative, called Backup Ukraine, is the first of its kind.

There have been 367 war crimes documented during the war by the Ukraine Ministry of Culture.

The war in Ukraine has ravaged cities from Mariupol to Kharkiv and reduced many buildings to piles of rubble. But a first-of-its-kind initiative launched in April called Backup Ukraine is making sure the cultural sites lost in the war will never truly be lost.

Backup Ukraine, which uses technology from the app Polycam, allows citizens to upload scans of monuments, art, and buildings to a digital library of cultural landmarks.

The archive includes everything from historical buildings to children's action figures and Lego sets left behind in the rubble.

"What we wanted to fight against was the willful destruction of Ukrainian heritage as an act of terror, of national intimidation," Tao Thomsen, co-creator of Backup Ukraine, told CNN.

Thomsen also told CNN the initiative has 150 volunteers who scan 10 cultural pieces a day. The project already has thousands of submissions.

"We advise people not to scan in areas where there is immediate conflict ... yet, people still go out by the dozens every day to scan. That to me proves that the national pride of this is a really strong driving factor," Thomsen told CNN.

As of June 8, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization verified damage to 143 sites in the country, including religious sites, historic buildings, and monuments. The Ukraine Ministry of Culture estimates the number to be higher, at 367.

Most of the destruction, the ministry says, is concentrated in the Kharkiv region.

According to rules set during the 1954 Hague Convention, it is against international law to target "movable or immovable property of cultural heritage of every people, such as monuments of architecture, art or history." In 2017, the UN adopted a resolution that made the destruction of heritage sites during armed conflict a war crime.

In June, Zelenskyy pleaded with UNESCO to expel Russian president Vladimir Putin from its membership with the organization.


POSTMODERN TROIKA; LIKE MAHKNO USED
Meet the international team of volunteers who are retrofitting civilian Fords and Toyotas into battle trucks for the Ukrainian forces



Bethany Dawson
Sun, June 12, 2022, 7:43 AM·3 min read




Ukrainian soldiers with a Cars4Ukraine vehicleIvan Oleksii

A team of volunteers from Europe, Ukraine, and the USA are working to turn civilian trucks into Ukrainian military vehicles.

The trucks are retrofitted with armor and weapons.

The team has refitted 60 vehicles and has 15 in progress to supply the Ukrainian army's mobile combat units.

A team of volunteers made up of Ukrainians, Europeans, and Americans is working on retrofitting civilian vehicles into battle trucks for the Ukrainian army.

The team, spearheaded by Ivan Oleksii, a 25-year-old esports analyst originally from Kherson, southern Ukraine, is working to equip the Ukrainian military with retrofitted cars from around Europe.

Since starting the project in March, the team has fully refitted 60 vehicles and has another 15 in progress to supply the Ukrainian army's mobile combat units.

Oleksii, who is based in Lviv, western Ukraine, explained the retrofit process. Truck models that you see parked on the street or being driven to the shopping mall are transformed into vehicles capable of, and ready to attack Russian tanks.

He told Insider they first searched for second-hand 4-wheel drive diesel trucks with 2.0l engines or more, priced around €5,500, roughly $5,821. The favored models include the Toyota Hilux/Tundra, Mitsubishi L200, Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara/KingCab, Isuzu D-Max, Маzda BT-50/Mazda B2500, and the Jeep Gladiator.

Most vehicles are purchased from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Scandinavia, or the UK.

All of their money comes from crowdfunding through their website.

Once the vehicles arrive at the team in Ukraine, they're retrofitted by volunteer mechanics and engineers who reinforce the body of the truck in to provide protection from mortar and shell fire and add a stand on the back of the vehicle for a machine gun or Javelins, NLAWs, and Stingers anti-tank weapons.

The 43rd civilian car Cars4Ukraine used to retrofit (before)Ivan Olekssi

The 43rd car Cars4Ukraine retrofitted (after)Ivan Oleskii

Adding a second layer of metal plate to the truck's chassis is one of the most critical parts of the refitting process, Oleskii explains, as it has helped save lives.

"There have been a few cases when the vehicle has been attacked, but it has protected the soldiers and saved lives," Oleskii said, showing Insider a photo of a truck that was still able to drive after a being hit by a Russian explosive.

All the trucks come decorated with a Ukrainian flag and the slogan, "Russian warships go fuck yourself."

Ivan Oleksii with a the metal armour used to protect the car from explosions
Ivan Oleksii

Alongside Car4Ukraine teammate Ivan Karbashevskyi, Oleksii has also created War-Stop.com, an initiative that allows anyone worldwide to purchase supplies — ranging from first aid kits and thermal underwear to radios and binoculars — for the Ukrainian military.

"We have found a way to make a real impact."


Ukrainian soldiers shooting from the back of a truck retrofitted by Cars4Ukraine
Ivan Oleksii

Medically exempted from fighting in Ukraine's armed forces, Oleskii said he wanted to find a way to support his country's military effort meaningfully.

"I wanted to do this project because it makes a very direct impact. You buy a car, fix that car, arm it, put the thing on the back to hold machine guns or anti-tank weapons, and then have a burnt Russian tank."

Ukrainian soldiers with a truck retrofitted with an anti-tank weapon by Cars4Ukraine

Oleksii adds that his parents are still trapped in Russian-occupied Kershon. He describes the "new normal" as phone calls to his father to the background percussion of Russian shelling. "Everyone has their arms and legs" when asked if his family is safe.

That's why Cars4Ukraine is so important to him. "If there is at least something we can do to de-occupy the territory, we're going to do that," he said.

No comments:

Post a Comment