Sunflowers become a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance as Russia continues to invade country

Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, sunflowers have taken on a new role in the world as they became the symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion. As Ukraine continues to fight Vladimir Putin and his troops' invasion, Ukraine's foreign ministry on Tuesday shared a video depicting how people in the country are ‘greeting' the Russian forces and one among them went viral. The video of a Ukrainian woman telling Russian soldiers to put sunflower seeds in their pockets so that flowers would grow where they die in battle was largely shared by citizens worldwide.

Sunflowers were Ukraine's national flower to start with. The flower is an integral part of the Ukrainian tradition and is found in the yards of village houses in the country. Sunflowers are also a part of women’s dresses worn during celebrations in Ukraine. Following the war, it has taken on a new and defiant role as it became a national symbol.

Ukraine's national flower becomes a symbol of resistance 

In a viral video, a Ukrainian woman was seen offering sunflower seeds to a Russian soldier. In the footage, the woman is seen offering the Russian soldiers some sunflower seeds to put in their pockets so that flowers would grow when they die on Ukrainian land. Following the video, many across the world came forward to laud the Ukrainian spirit symbolised by the sunflower.

The video, first posted on Twitter by the news site UkraineWorld on Thursday, was viewed over 8.5 million times. In the viral video, the woman has a dialogue with the Russian soldiers as she tells them that they were ‘occupiers’ and thus were the country’s ‘enemies’. She goes on to add to tell the invading troops that they are ‘cursed’ for their actions. The video was since featured on TV shows and news channels across the world including Sunday’s episode of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight.

Protesters around the world are now coming forward holding bouquets or wearing sunflowers at rallies to show their support for Ukraine. Several photographs of protestors carrying sunflowers also surfaced online. Meanwhile, activists supporting Kyiv in the warlike David Hogg and several others added the sunflower emoji in their social media bios to show solidarity. In the UK, London’s Russian embassy was covered in graffiti and drawings of sunflowers, which has now become a symbol of the country’s resistance.

Zelenskyy wants Russia to 'at least stop bombing'

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to dramatically escalate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy on Tuesday said that Russia must “stop bombing” Ukrainian cities before dialogue on ceasefire could begin. After the first round of Kyiv-Moscow talks in Belarus yielded no progress, the Ukrainian President spoke to foreign media outlets in a heavily guarded government compound. 

Zelenskyy called on NATO members to impose a no-fly zone to stop the Russian air force. He noted that it would be a preventative measure and note to drag the defence alliance into the ongoing Russia Ukraine war. While the Russian troops are appearing to target the civilian targets after starting the attack on 24 February, Zelenskyy and Ukrainians have pledged to not only fight the ‘enemy’ but also to stay in the country.

Image: AP