To celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day 2024 on Saturday, Aug. 24, local resident and advocate for Ukraine’s defense Alexandra Zakhvatayev will be manning a booth at the downtown Cape Coral Farmer’s Market. The booth will be a fusion of Ukrainian/American culture and have a central focus on freedom of country. There will be homemade sweet Ukrainian donuts known as Ponchiki and Pampushki.

All proceeds raised on Ukrainian Independence Day will go toward her August campaign to raise funds to purchase protective gear for the military battalion led by her dear friend, Commander Yuri of the Presidential Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Yuri leads a platoon of 20 men on a mortar battery for combat work on the intensely violent front lines of Luhansk, Ukraine.

This campaign is a collaborative effort with Ukraine Defense Support, a 501(c)(3) led by Carl Larson, a U.S. combat veteran of Iraq and former commander in the International Legion for Defense of Ukraine.

Those interested can support Yuri’s unit now by navigating to the link at donorbox.org.

The booth will be located at the Club Square of Southeast 47th Terrace and Southeast 10th Place, South Cape, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Aug. 24, and ongoing Saturdays, for which proceeds will continue to be raised for Ukraine’s military.