Putin says sanctions have failed

Foreign military assistance has been so central to Ukraine’s defense against Russia that one Ukrainian company is applauding new products: plush toy copies of weapons that break the backs of Russian troops.

Kopytsia, an online store founded in 1998 in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, has launched a collection of what it calls “patriotic soft dolls” in honor of the country’s resistance against Russia and the help it received.

Among the games on display are huggable versions of Bayraktar TB3s, the Turkish-made drones that have played a key role in Ukraine’s defense, and Javelins, the anti-armor weapons that Ukraine has used to eliminate Russian tanks on the battlefield.

Also on display is a 20-inch scaled down version of the Mriya cargo plane, which was the heaviest aircraft ever built until it was destroyed at the Battle of Antonov Airport outside Kyiv in the early days of the Russian invasion in February.

Maria Kubitsia, who runs the family business together with her father Anatoly, said the goal was to “preserve the patriotic mood of our nation and support the armed forces of Ukraine”.

Ms. Kubitsia, who stayed in Ukraine throughout the war, said the family launched the morale-boosting production line in the first two weeks of the war, but heavy fighting in northern Ukraine, including the Chernihiv region, made it impossible to achieve. To the capital and other major cities.

Prices range from $8 to $12 per game. Ms Kopytsia said sales of the toys will go toward paying their workers.

On Sunday, a photo spread by Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokaryuk shows Mrs. Kubitsya’s toys for sale in a store in western Ukraine, and Ms Kubitsya says interest in them has skyrocketed — despite some criticism online that they risk militarizing Ukrainian children.

Ms. Kubitsia said she was grateful for Western assistance to Ukraine.

“If we can protect our country with their help, and I can live in an independent Ukraine, I support it all,” she said.