Hundreds of Ukraine-bound bulletproof vests stolen in New York

NEW YORK — An NGO in New York had hundreds of bulletproof vests stolen after they were donated by officers and destined for Ukraine as it battles a Russian invasion, police and the organization says.

The theft occurred at the headquarters of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), where police arrived yesterday and learned that “approximately 400 bulletproof vests were removed from the location,” NY Police Department spokeswoman Lieutenant Jessica McRorie says.

“There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing,” she adds.

A spokesperson for UCCA says a smaller number of vests, about 300, were missing from the group’s Manhattan location. “We don’t know… why, how” the robbery occurred, or who would have committed it, the spokesperson told AFP.

The secondhand vests were donated by the police on Long Island, New York and were to be sent to aid workers who would deliver them by truck throughout Ukraine, the group says.