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Russia-Ukraine crisis: Hundreds of Ukraine-bound bulletproof vests stolen in New York

Police say the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made so far

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An NGO in New York had hundreds of bulletproof vests stolen after they were donated by officers and destined for Ukraine as it battles a Russian military operation, police and the organisation said Thursday.

The theft occurred at the headquarters of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), where police arrived Wednesday and learned that “approximately 400 bulletproof vests were removed from the location,” NY Police Department spokeswoman Lieutenant Jessica McRorie said.

“There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing,” she added.

A spokesperson for UCCA said a smaller number of vests, about 300, were missing from the group’s Manhattan location. “We don’t know... why, how” the robbery occurred, or who would have committed it, the spokesperson told AFP.

The secondhand vests were donated by the police on Long Island, New York and were to be sent to aid workers who would deliver them by truck throughout Ukraine, the group said.

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UCCA says it oversees dozens of Ukrainian-American groups in the United States, which is home to an estimated 1.2 million to 1.5 million people of Ukrainian origin.

Since the Russian military operation began three weeks ago, many US organisations have been mobilising to help raise funds and collect and ship food, clothing, toiletries, medicine and non-lethal light military equipment such as body armour and helmets to the Eastern European nation.

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