this Marseillais refurbishes municipal police bullet-proof vests to equip Ukrainian civilians

It is an initiative that saves lives. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a Marseille company manager, Nicolas Risterucci, has been meticulously collecting decommissioned bulletproof vests. He criss-crosses France to recover this equipment from the municipal police who are preparing to destroy them. Its objective: to redistribute them to Ukrainian civilians via its association “Vest Ukraine”.

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In his workshop, Nicolas Risterucci reconditions bulletproof vests, cutter in hand. The operation takes a few seconds. “I remove everything related to the municipal police: the stitches, one or two serial numbers… and that’s it!”, details the entrepreneur. In just one year, more than 3,000 vests like this have been sent to Ukraine.

This idea, Nicolas Risterucci got it from his work. “I run a company that creates safes to secure weapons, sensitive equipment for police officershe says. When the conflict broke out, a friend of mine, whose wife is Ukrainian, called me and asked me, ‘Nico, do you know where I can buy bulletproof vests?'”

I inquired and I learned that in France, bulletproof vests are destroyed after a certain period, defined by the manufacturers. And there, it clicked!

Nicolas Risterucci, founder of the association Vests Ukraine

at franceinfo

With his address book, the Marseille entrepreneur comes into contact with dozens of municipal police: Nancy, Ouistreham, Clermont-Ferrand, Bandol and soon Strasbourg. And donations are pouring in, as from Sausset-les-Pins, near Martigues. “We are a small town, I only have eleven municipal police officerssays Maxime Marchand, mayor of this commune of Bouches-du-Rhône. So we only gave nine vests, but the main thing is not necessarily the quantity of the donation, it is to participate. It was a real added value to be able to give them away. Especially since to my great surprise, we saved money since we should have paid to reform these vests. Instead, they went to save lives in Ukraine. We are very proud of this action.”assures the aedile.

Vests first for the most exposed civilians

Last link in the chain: the Ukrainian community of Marseille is then responsible for delivering the vests. A shipment of equipment is sent every week and distributed to the four corners of the country, in priority to the most exposed civilians. “We first give them to civilians who support the war effort. They are the ones who will condition the rations, who will repair the clothes, who will do their utmost to make life on the front line as comfortable as possible,” explains Nicholas Risterucci.

Before entrusting: “These vests can save the lives of Ukrainian civilians, but it also means that we support their fight for freedom, justice, peace. I’ve never felt more alive than I do right now because it’s beautiful!”, says Nicolas Risterucci. And the entrepreneur does not intend to stop at Ukraine: a first shipment of bulletproof vests has just arrived in Armenia with a view to protecting civilians in a country at war.