Ukraine is Selling Its Russian War Timeline As an NFT

For weeks now, the world has been gripped with the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ever since the Ukraine-Russia war began, there has been a massive outpouring of support from the rest of the world. 

From the #IStandWithUkraine trending on social media to several countries choosing to accept refugees from Ukraine, the global response has been resounding. 

Now, the Ukrainian government is taking an unorthodox approach to raising funds for its troops and memorializing the war; NFTs. Previously announced in early March 2022 by the Ukrainian Ministry for Digital Transformation, a digital museum of NFTs for sale has gone live. 

War in the Time of NFTs?

The collection is called the ‘Meta History Museum of War’ and currently features 54 NFTs in total. The NFTs depict the first three days of the Ukraine-Russia war in the form of illustrations done by Ukrainian and international artists as well as a tweet that was made about the situation during that time. 

The sales of these NFTs will be used to support the Ukrainian troops in their efforts. But more than this, these NFTs will be a way of documenting the war as it happens.

As the website explains, “The formula of each NFT is clear and simple: each token is a real news piece from an official source and an illustration from artists, both Ukrainian and international. The NFTs will be created in chronological order, according to the events so the true history will be saved and cherished.”

The documentation of war has always been very important throughout history. Entire physical museums and collections are created around the images, videos, and other content from wars around the world. 

Now, Ukraine is getting ahead of this by creating a collection of content relating to the war as it happens rather than after the fact. 

What Does Blockchain Mean for Wars?

Blockchain has been a part of public life for years now and so it was inevitable that it would play some part in the Ukraine-Russia war. First, there are the donations that have been made in cryptocurrency, which has topped $100 million so far.

In the last few years, cryptocurrency has been used as a way to raise money quickly and easily for political and humanitarian causes. However, this donation cycle might be the biggest one yet. 

Then there is the use of blockchain for documentation. Wars have been documented in different ways over centuries but few are perhaps as permanent as a piece of digital content on a blockchain. Written records can be destroyed and even video content can be wiped but data put on a blockchain is practically eternal.

In a sense, Ukraine is killing two birds with one stone by raising funds to support its troops while also making sure that the war is thoroughly and properly documented. As NFTs become more popular, it is likely that other world events will be documented in real-time by leveraging the power of blockchain.