ASHFIELD — It’s well-known that 3D printers can create objects like key chains and bottle openers. But how about military equipment to fend off a Russian invasion?

Volunteers around the world are using the technology to manufacture everything from munitions to machine parts that are then shipped to Ukraine to assist that nation’s military as it battles armed forces under the command of President Vladimir Putin. Ashfield resident Luke Henrici is one of those volunteers, and he has been producing equipment for the war effort for about a year.

“I can’t help myself from watching the news, that includes international news,” he said. “Eventually I got tired of reading about it and reached out to some people online and it snowballed from there.”

Henrici said he had purchased several 3D printers as a hobby and is now using them to construct grenade cases, some drones, periscopes and speed loaders for rifles.

“Whatever the guys at the front need, because it’s a desperate situation for a lot of them,” he said, adding that he mainly uses a plastic derived from plants. “We would never let [American] troops go out there without the proper tools. [Ukrainian soldiers] lack all sorts of stuff. If I can help that one guy, it’s worth it.”

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022, in what was the largest attack on a European country since World War II. The move sparked outrage and condemnation from around the world, and the International Criminal Court in March 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes involving accusations that Russia has forcibly taken Ukrainian children. As of May 31, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had recorded 32,989 civilian casualties (11,126 killed and 21,863 injured) since the invasion.

Henrici, 40, said the images from the Bucha region massacre in March 2022 particularly infuriated him. The massacre consisted of the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces.

“It’s one of the most black-and-white military conflicts, I think, in the last couple of centuries. You’ve got one completely independent state that’s being invaded and annexed forcibly by another,” he said. “It’s something I didn’t ... expect to see in this day and age. It’s kind of shocking.”

Henrici is affiliated with the volunteer group Wildbees USA/CA, an offshoot of Wildbees International, a largely decentralized organization dedicated to providing 3D-printed material to the Ukrainian military. For security reasons, he declined to say how the products he makes get to Ukraine.

“We don’t sell anything. Everything we do is 100% volunteer,” he said. “We’re going to keep doing this until Russians are out, until Ukraine wins.”

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.