USA TODAY International Edition
Ammo donors find red tape is bulletproof
10 days of paperwork; 1M rounds ready for Ukraine
The call to help Ukrainians in their resistance against the Russian invaders has drawn support from all corners of the U. S., with traditional charities providing aid, crypto platforms chipping in millions in donations and Elon Musk sending Starlink satellite internet hardware.
Count NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Richard Childress among them: Childress worked with an Arizona- based ammunitions company to send 1 million rounds of ammo to Ukraine. The experience has offered a crash course on international logistics in a war zone, but Childress said aiding the resistance is crucial to keep the “humanity” of the Ukrainian people from being destroyed.
“I said, ‘ We got the ammo we can get to these people,’ ” said Childress, who also is a member of AMMO Inc.’ s Board of Directors. “We went back and forth on how we could do it, how we could make it happen.”
That conversation in early March set off a chain of events that are still unfolding.
AMMO Inc. CEO Fred Wagenhals said it took three days to transport the munitions to Europe, but it’s taken over 10 days to complete the paperwork in order to hand them over.
“It is very close to being received,” Wagenhals said. “It is sitting right at the border, waiting on the defense minister of Ukraine to pick it up in the proper place.”
The ammunition sent to Ukraine is worth about $ 700,000.
“When we saw the news articles that President Zelenskyy wanted ammo, we reached out to sources in Europe to find out what type of ammunition he wanted,” Wagenhals said. “And it was a 7.62 bullet.”
The company made some of the 7.62mm rounds at its Wisconsin factory and purchased the rest in Europe to make sure the 1 million bullets arrived in Ukraine on time, he said. Then, the rounds were sent to an undisclosed location in Europe before being transported to Ukraine.
“We had to go through two European countries to get it done,” Wagenhals said.
The U. S. government has provided about $ 1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine in the past week, including more than 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds.
Childress said he has received support since announcing the donation, adding that Richard Childress Racing, alongside Bass Pro Shops and Convoy of Hope, set up a fund to continue to aid Ukrainians.
“We’re already getting a tremendous amount of support, but the more we can get will be better,” Childress said.
Wagenhals said the response to AMMO’s donation has been overwhelmingly positive. The company began to receive offers of donations to support the cause, prompting AMMO to refer people to CARE, an international humanitarian group.
“The outpouring was unbelievable,” he said.
But elements of the American right, including politicians, fringe candidates and popular TV hosts, have voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign, and Wagenhals said some of the feedback he’s received reflected that.
A death threat directed at Wagenhals was turned over to the FBI, he said.
Department of Commerce rules on ammo donations
The U. S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security oversees exports of weapons. The agency declined in a statement to comment on AMMO’s donation but said it has been “processing requests rapidly” to export firearms and ammunition to Ukraine.
“The Department of Commerce strongly condemns the brutal, illegal assault on Ukraine and has taken numerous actions to impose stringent export controls on Russia to degrade its ability to sustain military aggression,” the department statement said. “Parties seeking to donate firearms or other items to be sent to Ukraine should consult the Department of Commerce and State websites to determine whether a license to export those specific items is required.”
Americans seeking a license to export firearms to Ukraine, the department said, should consider how they intend to transport the weapons, whether there is an identified end- user to receive the shipment, and if Ukraine will receive the goods or if they will be transferred from another country.
The State Department said cash donations are the most efficient form of assistance to Ukraine.