Sunflower Scotland making changes with the times

Meeting Oleg Dmitriev in a café in central Edinburgh is a pleasure, but it is a world away from his usual stomping ground of a string of motorway service stations from here through Europe to Ukraine.

He is one of the founders of the Edinburgh based charity Sunflower Scotland which takes aid to Ukraine. The nature of that aid has changed over the years, and most recently he has been driving SUVs, ambulances and 4x4s to various destinations, all packed with surplus medical supplies from various UK sources. The SUVs are used to quickly evacuate people who have been wounded – usually soldiers – and take them to the nearest hospital. The ambulances do the same job, but of course neither of these vehicles is armoured. Oleg is on the lookout for armoured vehicles which would, he hopes, last a bit longer.

But the aid is not then simply dumped in the laps of hospitals or doctors. The doctors or hospitals have already been in contact with Sunflower Scotland to say – or order – what they need. So the elbow crutches Oleg had were of no use to the regional hospital in Kherson but were welcomed by the frontline medics of the 39th Brigade as there are just not enough crutches in military hospitals.

Sunflower supports nine hospitals in Ukraine’s frontline areas – three in Kharkiv, Vovchansk, Chuhuiv, Sumy, Shakhtarske, Kryvyi Rih (Novopillya) and Kherson.

His call to people in Edinburgh is to donate money, or surplus medical supplies which are still in date, or vehicles to the charity. The charity is supported by its donations large and small, and they are grateful for the ongoing support of a large corporate body. This means that if people are unable to donate vehicles they can be paid for if necessary. So if you have a vehicle which does not comply with the city’s LEZ requirements and you wish to sell it then Oleg would like to hear from you.

The charity’s sources for its medical supplies are usually paramedics or people in charge of inventory at NHS trusts here and in England. You may think of it in the same way as the food donations to food banks or pantries by large supermarkets – the sandwiches are about to go out of date but are better donated and consumed than thrown away. It is the same for the supplies of bandages, catheters and medicines. They are gratefully accepted and used in Ukraine, but considered waste in the UK and need to be “recycled” somehow.

Three years ago when the latest invasion took place Oleg began by delivering food parcels which would last for a month to the old people on the frontline who simply could not move away due to lack of money or because they were too old or ill. This has now stopped. The front line has increased in size from 10 miles from the border to 35, and it has become too dangerous with drones flying overhead for people to leave their homes to get food. All Ukrainians on the front line have been told to evacuate.

In December 2024 we reported that the charity was delivering supplies to rehabilitation units in Ukraine.

Sunflower Scotland has since turned its attention to getting medical aid through to the places it is needed – the field hospitals, often housed in converted buildings, or general hospitals which treat civilian and military casualties in the country where at the beginning of 2025 President Zelensky said in an interview that there were 390,000 people wounded or maimed people in Ukraine – some of whom have lost limbs.

Oleg and two volunteers make regular trips to Ukraine with deliveries, but need the public’s help to enable the work to continue.

The charity’s accounts are published on OSCR, and these show that so far they have raised £320,205 from 1000+ donors. Put simply they have an ongoing need for donations of money. They also need medical supplies, vehicles and commercial storage to work from while they are servicing vehicles or packing them for the journey.

If you can help then get in touch with Oleg at [email protected]