The student unions at University College London (UCL) and Lancaster University (LU) have reportedly suspended the activities of their Ukrainian student societies after raising funds to buy Chinese DJI Mavic drones to support the war effort in Ukraine.
According to a Financial Times (FT) report on Thursday the student unions took the action because the purchases made last year could have broken the law that bans charities from providing military aid to foreign forces – student unions are registered as charities.
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The FT says that UCL suspended its Ukrainian student organization in March for using profits from a club night to buy a DJI Mavic drone, which was then sent to Ukraine for use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front.
The “Cheese Grater,” the London university’s student’s in-house magazine cited a spokesperson for the Ukrainian society saying that the drone “… can be used for humanitarian and defense purposes. All Ukrainians abroad try to help their country, and with all [due] respect, solely humanitarian help will not win the war, [but] help for the frontline will.”
They then added: “We are at war with Russia, and every Ukrainian must help our country.”
Artur Podsokha president of the UCL Ukrainian society is quoted by the FT saying they “could not remain silent while Russia has been terrorizing our country since 2014.”
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He said the drone was bought only with proceeds from the event, not from charitable donations and asked how their actions were different from the aid the UK is providing.
The Lancaster University students’ union said it had only recently become aware that the university’s Ukrainian community had raised over £20,000 ($26,580) to help Ukraine in the summer of 2023, half of which was used to purchase three DJI Mavic 3 drones along with parts it said were to be exclusively used for territorial defense.
When challenged, their spokesperson said that all of its official donations were for humanitarian use only, while acknowledging that some of its members may have provided military aid on their own behalf.
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UCL said that they supported the student union’s actions although any disciplinary procedures would be conducted by an independent body. Lancaster University’s authorities declined to comment on the issue.
According to Cheese Grater, the student union was close to completing its investigations and was likely to recommend disciplinary action that could include disaffiliation, removal of committee members, a reprimand, or no further action.
A spokesperson for the union said they had no choice as the suspension was “…in line with our policies and our responsibilities as a charity.”
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