May 2026
Dear Friends of Ukraine,
Every month, supporters like you donate, share, and advocate on behalf of Sunflower Seeds Ukraine. With the war now in its fifth year, it's easy to lose sight of the tangible difference that your support makes in Ukraine.
Recent messages from the Defenders we serve, whose lives you help save every single day the war continues, are a reminder that you make a difference:
The feedback will be short. You saved a life with a first aid kit. You saved the lives of our brothers with your aid, and the drone detector helps a lot.
Everything I received helped me a lot in my everyday life and during our operations, and the drone detector actually saved the lives of our crew, perhaps more than once.
Their words are powerful reminders that our work and your support matter. Every dollar donated and every hour volunteered translates into something far greater: men and women coming home to their families alive. For more messages of thanks from Defenders, see our full blog post on this topic.
Read on to learn more about how your donations were used in March, how you can help send children of war to summer camp, information about upcoming events, and news from the frontlines. Or reach no further and click ‘Donate Now’ above to help!
Together we are stronger!
Kyle, Andriy, Slava, Ulana, and all of us at
Sunflower Seeds Ukraine
Spread Seeds of Help!
In March 2026, we provided 1,154 items to 492 Defenders, including:
326 protective equipment items (electronic earmuffs, knee pads...)
366 field gear items (backpacks, load bearing vests, pouches...)
84 individual first aid kits (tourniquets, chest seals ...)
34 uniform components (uniform sets, sleeping pads, boots...)
308 other items (powerbanks, NVDs, drone detectors...)
Thank you to our 140 donors that contributed to our efforts in March. We appreciate your help!
This past month we also received a very special thank you message from a Ukrainian Defender, callsign Teth, who serves as sergeant in the Special Operations Forces:
I want to thank Sunflower Seeds Ukraine for the work they have been patiently doing all these years and supporting our actions. We are fighting for our own survival, we have nowhere to retreat. We live with hope that we will achieve the result that we all need: peace and prosperity for our country. Slava Ukraini!
To see Sergeant Teth’s full video, please subscribe to our Patreon page.
Childhood is different for kids growing up in a country at war. Many are displaced, their homes and cities having been destroyed by russian invaders. Many wait and hope for their parents' return from the front lines. They bear a burden of stress no child should have to endure.
This month, we are raising funds to send Ukrainian children to summer camp through Plast, Ukraine's national scouting organization. For kids who have known little but war, a week of campfire songs, friendships, and fresh air serves as an important reminder that there is more to life than fear and violence.
Your donation can help make that happen. Every $100 we raise sends a child to summer camp. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to send 100 Ukrainian children to summer camp this season.
Please help and give Ukraine's kids a moment of peace.
May 21: Please join us onVyshyvanka (Embroidery) Day at Crystal Springs Brewery, 604 Main Street, Louisville, Colorado from 5:30-closing and enjoy volunteer-made pyrohy/varenyky.
May 24: Benefit Concert for Ukraine with Kateryna Pushkina and others at Avogadro’s Number in Fort Collins, Colorado (2-4pm).
May 25: Join Team Ukraine at this year’s Bolder Boulder 10K! ClickHERE to register. To order a t-shirt (proceeds for power banks), please contact Ellie Titarenko at 515.447-3582!
June 27: Celebrate Ukrainian Constitution Day with SFSU at Launchpad Brewery in Aurora from 12-3. For more details see the events website.
July 22: Sunflower Seeds Ukraine, along with KGNU, proudly presents DakhaBrakha to Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder on July 22, 2026. ClickHERE for tickets!
July 23:Save this date to Dine Out for Ukraine! This is one of our largest community building and fundraising events of the year. Last year, over 50 venues dedicated a portion of the day’s proceeds to Sunflower Seeds Ukraine. Our goal this year is to raise $20,000! If you’d like to nominate a restaurant or help organize the event, please email events@sunflowerseedsukraine.org
For details about these events and events continually updated on our website, please visit the SFSUevents website.
To read more about upcoming events, as well as a recap of our Solar Panel event, please see our blog post.
For the first time since August 2024, russian forces suffered a net loss of territory, and the data suggests this is part of a continuing trend, not an anomaly. At the same time, Ukrainian long-range strikes against oil infrastructure hit a four-month high, driving refinery capacity to its lowest level since 2009. This is important because oil sales remain the number one revenue stream that both literally and figuratively fuels the russian war machine.
These gains, however, come at a devastating cost to Ukraine as russia continues its relentless campaign of strikes on residential areas. This past April, russia launched 6,583 Shahed-type UAVs at Ukraine. In one recent attack, four glide bombs hit Zaporizhzhia, destroying residential buildings, an automobile repair shop, car washes, shops, and vehicles. At least a dozen were killed and dozens more were injured.
Read the full update for more details.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
To read longer versions of our news stories, visit the blog on our website, where you also can learn more about upcoming events and volunteering opportunities.
For more frequent updates about our work, please like our Facebook page, follow us on Instagram,and subscribe to ourYoutube channel.
Please forward this email to others, or use this form to subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage your communication preferences, or send us an email if you have any questions.
*The misspelling and lower casing of proper names like ‘russia’ in this newsletter is intentional and used as signs of disdain and disrespect. Similarly, the uppercasing of words such as ‘Defenders’ is intentional and used as a sign of respect and appreciation.
