Patreon Removes Ukrainian Charity Raising Military Aid Citing Policy Violation

Patreon, a subscription platform for artists and creatives, has de-platformed a Ukrainian non-profit that is running a crowdfunding campaign to support the country's military against a Russian invasion.

• According to a post on Patreon's website, the charity "Come Back Alive" was removed because it claimed to be using contributions to "finance and train military personnel."
• "We don’t allow Patreon to be used for funding weapons or military activity. It is a violation of our policies, and so we have removed the page," the statement said, adding that all remaining funds in the charity's account will be refunded to contributors.
• Come Back Alive claims to have raised around $670,000 in just one day this week, according to a Bloomberg report from Thursday.
• Taras Chmut, director of Come Back Alive, told CNBC on Thursday that Patreon was the most convenient platform for foreigners looking to send donations.
• The charity's website lists multiple ways to donate funds including using payment system Swift and bank accounts. So far, Patreon seems to be the only fundraising method to be disrupted.
• The charity is also raising funds in bitcoin, and has received close to $5 million worth of bitcoin to one wallet address listed on its website, according to data from Blockchain.com. Only around $150,000 worth of bitcoin have left the wallet so far.
• On Friday, Ukraine's official Twitter account posted a link to the Come Back Alive donation page, which includes details for its bitcoin wallet.
• It is unclear how the funds are currently being distributed as the charity has not updated its reporting on donations since Wednesday.

UPDATE (Feb. 25 20:56 UTC): Added details about Ukraine's official Twitter account.