A group of activists from Ukraine and the U.S. are planting sunflowers in a spot across the street from the Russian embassy in D.C., to show support for Ukraine in its stand against the unprovoked invasion that started 15 months ago.
It's the second year in a row that the group has planted the national flower of Ukraine outside the Russian embassy gates.
"Despite Russia's repeated attempts to colonize, erase, and destroy the Ukrainian nation, Ukrainians will never stop defending their right to life and liberty," a news release about the event reads. "Similarly, the Ukrainian community and its friends here in Washington DC will continue to plant sunflowers, and will never stop their work to keep Ukrainian culture and heritage alive."
According to that release, the sunflower is not just Ukraine's national flower, but "a major symbol of Ukraine's struggle for freedom."
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The flower has historically represented peace, particularly between Russia and Ukraine, thanks to a symbolic ceremony in 1996 when counterparts from the two countries "planted sunflower seeds where Soviet Union nuclear missiles once stood ready," the Associated Press reported last January.
When Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, a viral video showed a Ukrainian woman giving sunflower seeds to Russian soldiers, telling them to put the seeds in their pockets "so something grows when you die," according to Smithsonian magazine.
Since that moment, sunflowers have played a part internationally in protests showing support for Ukraine.
According to the release, all are welcome to attend the 5 p.m. event at Boris Nemtsov Plaza in D.C.
"The organizers and volunteers for this event include Ukrainians, "average" Americans, and anti-regime Russians; Christians, Jews, and Muslims; straight and LGBTQ+ members of our community," the release reads. "This event is family-friendly and appropriate for children."
The event was put together by US Ukrainian Activists (USUA), a nonprofit dedicated to sharing medical and humanitarian supplies with Ukrainian hospitals, and drawing attention what the group calls "Russia’s historical aggression and genocide against the Ukrainian nation."
Sunflower seeds planted during the event at the end of May are likely to bloom in two to three months, organizers say.
