03 May 2026 – Sunflower Scotland donated a Land Rover Freelander 2 SUV to a specialist technical team that maintains anti-drone defence perimeter Kherson. Russia is terrorising Kherson with hundreds of drones every day. They are destroying ambulances, buses, and simply people walking on the street. Protecting the city against drone attacks is top priority. We work on the ground and know first hand who needs help. That’s why we donated an SUV to support this important work.
In February, when Oleg was in Kherson, an electro-mechanical engineer asked to meet him. Their team was doing a very important job, defending the city from drones. The issue was, they were using an small estate car: not big enough for heavy equipment, not good enough for off-roading when rains turn roads around Kherson in rivers of mud.
Back in Scotland, Sunflower’s team started working. Luckily, one donor approached Oleg and offered help. Lindsay McCallum donated rehabilitation equipment to Sunflower before, and he knew that we do what we promise. This time he decided to give us a hand once again.
We are really grateful to Mr McCallum for his trust, and for his support.
Purchasing and servicing
We used all the money we raised to buy a Land Rover Freelander 2. But, as it often happens, it needed some more repairs than we thought.
We changed all the suspension components including springs and shock absorbers. After that, we did a full servicing, changed fuel and oil filters and oil in the engine, gearbox, differential and propshaft.
Driving to Ukraine
Lindsay volunteered to drive the Freelander all the way to Lviv. Dmytro, a volunteer from Kherson, came by train and took over from there.
Oleg, Stevie and Dmytro drove first to Vinnytsia, and from there to Kherson. Oleg and Stevie needed a foreigner’s permit to enter Kherson. It was all arranged, and they took the vehicle in the city. In addition, we drove a wheelchair-access SUV for the Kherson social taxi (see this report) and a van full of medical supplies for Kherson Regional Hospital.
Direct donation: the only way
In Kherson, we met with Serhii, the Ukrainian engineer, and donated the Freelander (see the photo at the top).
After donating it we spent some time together with “Strong because Free” – a Kherson charity that operates the social taxi service for older people with mobility issues.
As you see from this report, we work on the ground. We know exactly what is needed, and who needs it. We don’t give vehicles in Kyiv or Lviv, rather we take it all the way and make sure they get in the hands of those who are desperately needing them. Such simple people don’t have the time or permission to travel to Lviv. They are working every day. You have to come to them.
It would be stupid to say that we are not afraid to go to Kherson. We are afraid, but we know that this is the only way. We thank Lindsay for supporting us and for driving to Ukraine, and we are grateful to everyone who donated and supported.
Thank you so much!
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