The Ukrainian Navy is facing its worst crisis in the country's history, the Associated Press reports.
As a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea, Moscow took nearly two thirds of Ukraine's naval vessels, reducing their force from 75 to 28 ships.
Faced with these dire circumstances and President Obama unwilling to provide military assistance, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has taken to "hustling" 50-cent donations that individuals make via text message. So far, the effort has yielded about $1 million, hardly sufficient to replace expensive military hardware.
Moscow based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told the AP of Ukraine's 28 remaining ships, only one is "ready for action."
However, the morale among the Ukrainian military remains high. "If you talk to the crew members, they would tell you ‘we’ll reconstruct the ship, we’ll do it. We’re ready,’ said Assoication of Submarines Chairman Evengenii Livshyts. "It proves the spirit is invincible."