E-cigarettes are the latest force powering the Ukrainian war effort as resourceful volunteers are retrofitting vape batteries into carrier drones.
When Russian troops stormed into Ukraine earlier this year, many believed the war would last a matter of weeks…or even days.
But six months later and the nation is still holding strong, answering the Russian invasion with unbridled patriotism and a thirst for freedom.
Despite facing a massive armed force – an estimated 15 times that of Ukraine’s – people rolled up their sleeves, pulling together scraps and spare parts in a makeshift military response.
The war quickly inspired a DIY race to arms, with people mixing homemade Molotov cocktails and building tank traps to protect their country…and now vaping has been drafted into the fight.
To help Ukrainian forces fend off enemy soldiers, a resourceful group of volunteers has taken to fuelling much-needed weapons with recycled e-cigarettes.
The team harvests the valuable lithium batteries from disposable vapes, repurposing them to power drone release systems that deliver critical supplies and explosives to the battlefield.
Led by PhD student Maksym Sheremet, the 60 strong ‘Drone Labs’ organisation has already produced hundreds of the machines, with 30 volunteers dedicated exclusively to repurposing e-cigarette batteries.
And as the war with Russia rages on, Sheremet says there are thousands more units ‘in the pipeline’.
In an interview with The Independent, he said:
“Lithium batteries used to cost $1 each, but went up five times in price adding significantly to our costs.
“So we started powering dropping systems from the batteries in disposable e-cigarettes…it’s free, easy and environmentally friendly because we are recycling.”
Sheremet and his team have already salvaged thousands of disposable vapes, even setting up collection bins where students and staff can donate waste devices at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
The 26-year-old engineer added that Drone Labs only works from ‘donations and private investment’, meaning it doesn’t have to charge the military anything for its vape-fuelled drop-systems.
The innovative e-cigarette project comes after the Ukrainian military cried out for more drones, calling on citizens to contribute their high-flying gadgets to the war effort.
Sheremet said developing the cost-effective tech was his way to help defend the country, choosing to support Ukrainian troops with his mind and not a weapon.
He said:
“We have students, engineers and volunteer programs; it’s very easy to solder this stuff, it is not a difficult job.
“There are people who want to help and don’t know how to shoot a rifle…our brain is our weapon.”
