In Great Britain, volunteers are converting e-cigarettes into power banks for the Armed Forces
Volunteers of the Leeds Ukrainian Community Association (LUCA) collect and recycle batteries and wires from discarded vapes to send to Ukraine for further use as frontline energy sources. reports BBC.
Member of the LUCA board of directors Vyacheslav Semenyuk led an initiative aimed at converting disposable electronic cigarettes (vapes) into portable chargers for the Ukrainian military. Such recycled cells are used to power drones, phones and night vision devices in the trenches. According to Vyacheslav Semenyuk, recycled vapes are used “as a source of light and in cooking”, sometimes becoming “the only source of energy”.
In 2025, the UK introduced a ban on the sale of single-use vapes to reduce environmental damage and protect children. Before that, according to estimates, about 8.2 million such devices were thrown away every week in the country.
“This is a creative way to use these vapes. We open the vape, remove the battery, insulate the wires and pack them in boxes,” Semenyuk explains.
He has lived in Great Britain for more than ten years and admits that it is difficult for him to observe the war in Ukraine from afar.
“I feel a certain guilt that I am not there, I am not fighting on the front line, because I cannot leave my family here. My daughter’s godfather died in the war last year, he was my best friend since kindergarten, so it is very difficult for me to be here,” Semenyuk said.
Since 2014, LUCA has been supporting the Ukrainian community in Leeds and the surrounding areas, promoting the language, culture and heritage. However, as Semenyuk notes, the scope of the organization’s activities “increased significantly” after the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022.
In addition to collecting and handing over clothes and essential items for refugees, the organization held charity events – concerts, barbecues, screenings of Ukrainian films aimed at raising funds.
“We are here for refugees, whether they need help or want to talk. At the beginning of the war, we focused on helping Ukrainians abroad and in Leeds, but now most of our efforts are aimed at supporting Ukrainians in Ukraine,” Semenyuk emphasizes.
