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Batteries From Britain’s Banned Vapes Now Fuel Drones, Phones, and Night Vision in Ukraine
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukrainian volunteers in the UK are giving discarded disposable vapes a second life—by turning them into power sources for Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, BBC reported on August 25.
The initiative, launched by the Leeds Ukrainian Community Association (LUCA), involves dismantling the single-use e-cigarettes to extract batteries and wires. Those components are then shipped to Ukraine, where volunteers assemble them into portable chargers and energy packs for troops.
The recycled power banks are used to run drones, phones, and night vision devices. In some cases, they even provide light and heat for cooking.
Viacheslav Semeniuk, a LUCA trustee, said, “This is sometimes the only source of power. We crack open the vape and pull out the battery, isolate the wires, and pack them into boxes. If we can utilise whatever is not needed anymore and make it for free, why not?”
The project comes months after the UK banned the sale of disposable vapes, citing environmental damage and concerns over youth smoking. Before the ban, an estimated 8.2 million single-use vapes were being discarded every week across the country.
For Semeniuk, the effort is personal. “I feel some kind of guilt that I am not there, fighting on the front line—but I cannot leave my family here,” he told the BBC.
“My daughter’s godfather died fighting last year. He was my best friend from kindergarten—so it is really difficult being here. That is why I do what I do.”
Since 2014, LUCA has been supporting Ukrainians living in Leeds, promoting language, culture, and heritage.
But after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the group shifted its focus toward aid for Ukraine. Alongside the vape-recycling project, the charity has organized concerts, barbecues, and film screenings to raise funds and has sent clothing and essentials to those displaced by the war.
Semeniuk said the work of dismantling and repurposing vapes is mostly done by just two or three people, often with help from his young daughter at home.
“This has been ongoing for years, and we are not stopping. We will keep going,” he added.
Earlier, the UK transferred to Ukraine 30 fire and rescue vehicles and more than 15,000 pieces of specialized equipment.
This delivery marks the 8th humanitarian convoy organized by the UK-based charity FIRE AID in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council and supported by the UK Government, including the Home Office.
