An 11-year-old boy from Kaluga was dressed in a military uniform to raise money for his treatment. On March 30, a one-minute clip about him was released by the Nika TV channel.
The story highlighted that the boy is passionate about “writing military-themed poetry” and is deeply concerned “about soldiers and children.” The video featured a touching shot of the child in uniform, accompanied by a voice-over narration. Toward the end of the video, a bank card number was displayed for collecting funds for his treatment.
The child urgently requires a new artificial heart valve, but the family cannot afford the procedure, which costs over 4 million rubles ($55,130). They hope to raise the funds by the end of May.
It is not uncommon for Russian officials and state media to use military uniforms to seek support for people in need. For instance, in January, the Yaroslavl authorities provided financial aid of 10 thousand rubles ($130) to an 83-year-old survivor of the siege of Leningrad and Stalin's repressions, after she was photographed holding a letter Z for the mayor’s social media account.