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Protect the body: Ukraine volunteers craft armor, camouflage

Sparks fly as a circular saw slices into metal, while welders nearby work feverishly to the sound of blaring heavy metal. Upstairs, sewing machines clatter as women mark patterns on cloth being shaped into bulletproof vests.To get more news about bulletproof zone, you can visit bulletproofboxs.com official website.

An old industrial complex in the southeastern Ukrainian riverside city of Zaporizhzhia has become a hive of activity for volunteers producing everything from body armor and anti-tank obstacles to camouflage nets, portable heating stoves and rifle slings for Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russia’s invasion. One section specializes in vehicles, armor-plating some, converting others into ambulances. Another organizes food and medical deliveries.

With the front line about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the city, some sections of the operation, such as the stitching of bulletproof vests, are working around the clock in shifts to meet demand. Crowdfunding has brought in enough money to buy steel from Sweden, Finland and Belgium, which is lighter than local steel, organizers say, a crucial quality for body armor.

The operation is the brainchild of local celebrity Vasyl Busharov and his friend Hennadii Vovchenko, who ran a furniture-making business. They named it Palianytsia, a type of Ukrainian bread whose name many Ukrainians say cannot be pronounced properly by Russians.The operation relies entirely on volunteers, who now number more than 400 and come from all walks of life, from tailors to craftsmen to lawyers. Apart from those involved in production, there are also drivers delivering humanitarian aid and medical equipment bought through donated funds.

“I feel I am needed here,” said fashion designer Olena Grekova, 52, taking a brief break from marking fabric for vests.

When Russia invaded on Feb. 24, she was in Thailand seeking inspiration for her spring collection. Initially, she said, she wondered whether it was a sign from God that she shouldn’t return. Her husband and two adult sons urged her not to.She had known Busharov for years. Arriving home on March 3, she gathered her equipment the next day and by March 5 was at Palianytsia. She’s been working there every day since, bar one, sometimes even at night.

Shifting from designing backless ballgowns to creating functional bulletproof vests was “a new experience for me,” Grekova said. But she sought feedback from soldiers for her designs, which have armor plates added. Now she is helping to produce several versions, including a prototype summer vest.

In another section of the industrial complex, 55-year-old Ihor Prytula was busy making a new camouflage net, winding pieces of dyed fabric through a string frame. A furniture-maker by trade, he joined Palianytsia at the start of the war. He had some military experience, he said, so it was easy to get feedback from soldiers on what they needed.