Today, more than 150 thousand Metinvest bulletproof vests protect defenders of Ukraine, providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with reliable protection from enemy bullets and shell fragments. Read on to find out why the Cossacks despised armour, how a native of Ternopil invented the world's first bulletproof vest and how much it cost.
The boon, fertile Ukrainian land, the well-being of its inhabitants and the developed culture have always attracted foreign invaders. The Huns and Khazars, Polovtsians and Pechenegs, and later the Mongols and Muscovites carried out military raids, forcing freedom-loving residents to take up arms and defend their homeland. Not surprisingly, in the Middle Ages, the military potential of Ukraine became one of the most powerful in Europe, and some of the inventions of the Cossack community still remain relevant.
In the sixteenth century, the Cossacks invented trenches called "shantsi" and mobile artillery, which originated from Bohdan Khmelnytsky's idea to mount cannons on wheels. Moreover, as early as 1595, the Jesuit R. Fournier, visiting Istanbul, recorded from Turkish soldiers an incredible history on a Cossack submarine at that time!
WIKIQUOTE
"They would appear unexpectedly, rise right from the bottom of the sea and terrify the guards and all the coastal inhabitants. I had been told before that Cossacks swam across the sea underwater, but I thought it was a fiction. Now I spoke to those people who had witnessed the Cossacks' underwater raids on the Turkish coast."
Equally incredible is the fact that the Cossack community won all their victories without any personal protective equipment. And the point here is not technical backwardness or lack of funds for equipment. It was simply that there was an absolute disregard for injury and even death among the Zaporizhzhia community. While the steppe nomads wore sturdy leather armour and the winged Polish hussars were protected by massive steel cuirasses, the Cossacks invariably took to the battlefield in thin linen shirts, relying only on their own skill and speed. That is why they have been repeatedly compared to Danish berserkers in historical chronicles, and the very mention of desperadoes with scalplocks confused even the most skilled warriors of the time.
However, over time, technological innovations have made adjustments to both the strategy of warfare and personal protective equipment. With the advent of firearms, heavy metal cuirasses, chain-mails and coats of mail became a thing of the past due to their ineffectiveness. For more than two centuries - from the nineteenth century until the First World War - the military was forced to fight without any means of protection, until in 1897 Ukrainians returned to world history with a new revolutionary invention - the world's first bulletproof vest.
History of the first bulletproof vest
Demonstration of bulletproof vest by Yan Shchepanyk
According to various sources, two scientists claim to be the father of the first plate carrier, both of them from the territory of modern Ukraine.
The first is Cazimir Zeglen, a Catholic priest and native of Ternopil, who discovered the very concept of personal protective equipment. His idea was based on the research of the American doctor George Goodfellow, who noticed that a simple silk handkerchief in a breast pocket could stop a pistol bullet. Continuing his research, Zeglen invented a special weaving system and a special solution to wet the fabric for even greater effectiveness. With the courage worthy of the Sich Cossacks, Cazimir repeatedly demonstrated the capabilities of silk body armour by personally facing a gunshot.
The second inventor to develop a model as close as possible to a modern plate carrier was Jan Szczepanik, a native of Lviv region. For some time, he worked together with Cazimir Zeglen, but then the inventors parted ways. It was Szczepanik, who was nicknamed the "Galician genius" for his passion for inventions, who managed to improve his colleague's technology by combining silk fabric with thin steel sheets. Even King Alfonso XII of Spain bought one of the experimental samples. And he did not regret it - the invention of a talented Ukrainian saved the royal life by protecting him from grenade fragments during an assassination attempt. After that, Szczepanik was honoured with the Order of Honour of Elizabeth the Catholic.
Meanwhile, Cazimir Zeglen, having moved to Chicago, popularised the idea of bulletproof vests and even instructed his former partner Szczepanik to develop a technology for machine production of bulletproof fabric, which he successfully did.
Body armor test (September 1923, Washington)
Apart from a few attempts to create steel body armour - heavy and impractical, it restricted the movements of soldiers and was not widely used until the invention of Kevlar and ballistic steel - Zeglen and Szczepanik's vests remained without a rival on the world market.
However, such protection could only be afforded by politicians, businessmen, or gangsters, as one bulletproof vest cost an incredible $800, or about $24,000 in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation.
New era of Ukrainian defence
Ukrainian armour plate manufacturers faced another challenge in 2022, with the start of russia's full-scale invasion. There was an urgent need for a large number of high-quality protective equipment for the Ukrainian military. Metinvest Group was able to quickly find suppliers of the metal in Europe and Turkey and set up a stable production process for the armour plates. Between March and May, the volume of steel imported to Ukraine totalled over 600 tonnes.
In parallel, as part of the Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front military initiative, Metinvest started producing its own armour plates to meet the needs of the defence sector as soon as possible.
Since the first day of the war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been standing up to the invading army with courage and steel strength. And today, they are heroically advancing the front line, liberating kilometres after kilometres from the occupiers. That is why we need to be a reliable support for our soldiers - to ensure their protection and tactical advantage. As part of the Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front military initiative, Metinvest Group has made significant efforts to set up armour steel production. Currently, more than 150,000 bulletproof vests protect the lives of those on whom the future of the entire country depends.
— Yuriy RYZHENKOV, CEO of Metinvest GroupThe issue of comfort was equally acute, as at the beginning of the war, Ukrainian bulletproof vests weighed up to 14 kilograms, which significantly limited the mobility of the military. All available production and intellectual resources were used to solve this problem. Metinvest Group's specialists conducted a series of tests, selecting the optimal steel grade and heat treatment mode that reduced the weight of the plate to 8-9 kg, while maintaining all the protective properties of class 4+.
MILITARY REFERENCE
Class 4+ bulletproof vests are capable of protecting the wearer from pistol rounds, grenade fragments and bullets from most assault rifles, including the Kalashnikov and SGD rifles widely used by russian invaders.
Cooperation with the Lviv Defence Cluster helped steel makers take the first steps towards mass production of Ukrainian bulletproof vests. Metinvest Group provided the LDC with more than 500 tonnes of hardened steel sheets, which helped to overcome the shortage of armour and provide tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel with reliable protection.
FACT
Every tenth Ukrainian soldier is protected by body armour made from Metinvest steel. As part of the Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front military initiative, the gear is given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine free of charge.
Currently, Metinvest's facilities allow to produce up to 20 tonnes of ballistic steel per week. In addition to bulletproof vests for personnel, the steel is also used to make special-purpose plates to increase the bullet resistance of vehicles operating in hot spots.
Metinvest Group's priority is to provide reliable and comfortable protection, so leading experts from both the steel and military industries were involved in the production of bulletproof vests. The designers were guided by international quality standards, including those used by the US Army. The plates are certified for protection class 4+, have a comfortable anatomical shape that makes them easy to wear and, when hit, not only retain the bullet but also absorb a significant part of the kinetic energy. The items are tested in combat conditions and checked with a hardness tester.
The importance of the assistance provided by Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front military initiative is evidenced by the defenders themselves. For example, here's a story from an Armed Forces serviceman with the call sign "Uchitel":
- Our unit has received bulletproof vests of the 4th class of protection from Metinvest Group, which will be very useful for us at the front line, where we will defend our country. They are very comfortable and will help us to perform combat missions set by our leadership. Bulletproof vests meet all international standards and protection classes. We hope that with their help we will defeat the enemy and do our best to win.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Metinvest has allocated over UAH 3.4 billion to help Ukraine and Ukrainians, including over UAH 1.8 billion for the needs of the army.
