Interview at the DIY Bomb Factory
'If we do nothing, they will just keep coming. We have no other choice.'
My recent post about the DIY bomb factory has garnered considerable interest, so I went back to Borya and Alina - as I will call them - to do a full interview.
Anna: Readers of my blog will find it hard to imagine making bombs in their living room.
Alina: Two years ago, we’d have found it hard to imagine too!
Why do you need to make bombs?
Borya: In order to stop the russian invasion. The russians are advancing everywhere, and we don’t have shells. Every day hundreds of russian soldiers and dozens of armoured vehicles arrive at the front. And they don’t just sit there. They attack regularly. Hundreds of them, every day. They die, and new ones take their place. There’s piles of bodies, piles of wrecked kit, and they keep coming; and if we do nothing they will just keep coming. We have no other choice.
Even if we receive more shells now, Western support is not enough – and it will never be enough. That’s not possible. We have to strengthen ourselves. It’s a very big country and a very long front line. We use thousands of projectiles a day.
We need to do more, by every possible method. As many civilians as possible need to actively help the army and not just donate, because that isn’t enough. FPV (First Person View) drones are very helpful; they need good cameras, good projectiles.
When did you start working with bombs?
B: At the start of March.
A: We ordered the printer from Ali Express and had to wait two months. We got it on Black Friday for a 50% discount, for 7,000 hryvnia (£140 GBP/$177 USD).
Why at that time?
B: The situation at the front wasn’t great. And we do a lot of different volunteer work, but it’s mostly humanitarian. You need to put energy into helping the army too. I thought about how to do it, and I came up with this idea some time in autumn – how to continue volunteering in society, but help the army at the same time. It’s important to do everything possible to help both.
How do you decide what to work on?
B: There are various kinds of bombs – a few dozen, with different requirements. Some skim along the ground, some fly with the help of a tail. Some are kamikaze, and different drones carry different loads. Demand from the army outstrips capacity. And not everyone makes bombs. Some of them make model mines for training sappers. Some make medical items.
What kind of bombs we print depends on the immediate need. I look at what’s needed, and that’s what I produce. At the moment I make two particular kinds of bomb because they’re needed on the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia fronts. I can print them quickly, and send them quickly. One is called a ‘Zapilni4ka’, which is a type of cigarette lighter. Then there’s an ‘ice cream’ bomb. It’s the final dessert for the occupiers.
Tell me a bit about the process.
B: It isn’t difficult. You can learn how to do it in a couple of weeks. There’s a special area for beginners on the site, with simple instructions and a Telegram channel where you can get advice.
I work at home. If you worked at an office you probably wouldn’t have time to do this. We try to keep Frodo - the printer - going 24/7. The Zapilni4ka takes 12 hours to print. You just have to leave it alone during that time. Bombs with fewer parts, you can print in four hours, and you need to refresh the setup constantly. While it’s working, you can just turn the light out and leave it to print.
A: I have some trouble sleeping so I have to close the bedroom door. But there’s a building site that works all night, and it’s louder than Frodo! Sometimes the cat starts scratching at the door, wanting us to open it. I put music on.
B: We send the finished bombs via Nova Poshta.
The post office?
B: Well, they don’t ship actual bombs. These are just plastic casings, like a bottle.
What does the printer need in order to work?
B: Plastic and constant maintenance. You have to tighten the bolts, clean it sometimes, oil it; sometimes you it breaks and needs new parts. I’ve had to repair it a couple of times. You can buy a lot of spare parts online.
Unfortunately Frodo’s not working at the moment. There’s a bit of plastic extruded where it shouldn’t be. But we’ve ordered some replacement parts and they’ll be here tomorrow.
Are a lot of people are building bombs at home?
B: There’s a volunteer organisation that covers all Ukraine which grew to over 4,000 people in the course of a few months. The 3D Print Army. And there’s a group on Telegram where people talk about what they need, buy plastic… It’s a kind of shop. You go there and there’s a shop window and you choose things you need. And then you print.
Are there people outside the country who help?
B: Yes. There are Ukrainians living in Poland, who send things to us by Nova Poshta. A lot of 3D printer users have Instagram, and they get a lot of donations abroad for plastic. And other people help us buy other necessary items.
Have you received plastic from the 3D Printer Army?
B: No. There’s a big queue. If you can buy everything yourself, it’s better to do so. Because there’s not enough stuff for everyone who wants to print. Some people buy a printer but then can’t use it because they can’t buy plastic.
You can buy stuff from Ali Express but you have to wait a long time. A lot of people in Ukraine are 3D-printing so a big market has sprung up for plastic, and there are Ukrainians making plastic here because in Europe it’s hard to buy because it’s so popular. It takes a long time to get here from China and it’s expensive. So some shops dealing with computer tech have popped up and now they deal with everything for printers.
Showing how valuable the work of the home factories is, here’s a video from frontline troops. It’s on Instagram so you may need an account to view it.
Translation of the audio: I want to thank you for turning your time, your skill and your inspiration into help for us, into a weapon of victory. Together we will be able to liberate our Ukraine from this savage enemy and return peace to our homes. Thank you, and together to victory!
Will Frodo be a hobby for you after the war?
B: We’ll retire him. Like the real Frodo! He got rid of the Ring and that was it, time to rest. A $150 printer isn’t the best, and gets used a lot. After the war I think he’ll go on a shelf of honour and I’ll buy a really good printer to use, because it’s useful for the home too, and he’ll be a family heirloom. Maybe Alina will want to paint him, I don’t know.
Back to the present, have you any plans to expand operations?
B: We considered a second printer but firstly we don’t have enough room, and secondly we’d need twice as much plastic and time for cutting et cetera. In principle we could do it but in practice we don’t have the capacity. We have enough plastic for Frodo at the moment. What we would like is a more expensive - better, faster - printer.
Update: this post was first drafted on 24 April, and as of this morning (26 April), Frodo is still not working. Surgery continues…