Over the next three to four weeks, large-format photos showing scenes from everyday wartime life in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev can be seen in the large showcase in Stadtsaalhof, which is accessible around the clock. The traveling exhibition “Kiev is the unbreakable heart of Europe” was opened on Thursday by Anna Starostenko, Deputy Mayor of Kyiv.
The first days after the liberation of Bucha: a cat in focus
(Photo: Borys Korpusenko)
A musician from the symphony orchestra, now a soldier himself, plays in front of the rubble of a destroyed bridge.
(Photo: Borys Korpusenko)
Many photos show houses in the Ukrainian capital that were destroyed by rockets in the first weeks and months after the outbreak of war on February 24, 2022. But they also show that the population is not willing to be defeated. Children can be seen playing basketball in a damaged gymnasium, or press representatives on the street looking after a cat next to shot-up Russian tanks. Or a horn player from the symphony orchestra playing in front of bomb debris. The recordings reflect both suffering and confidence.
Anna Starostenko in front of the glass front of the Stadtsaal, behind which the large-format photos can be seen over the next three to four weeks.
(Photo: Carmen Voxbrunner)
Cultural life also goes on despite all the terrible destruction between anti-tank barriers,” said Deputy Mayor Christian Stangl (Greens) in his welcoming address. Anna Starostenko, who speaks fluent German, agreed – even if you “don’t get used to this war”. “Can and should. 400 houses, including clinics, were damaged in the capital, and Russia is also trying to destroy the cultural identity of the Ukrainians. Nevertheless, Anna Starostenko remains optimistic: “We will soon celebrate victory,” she told Edigna Kellermann and Andreas Lohde from the Edigna Association, who organized the exhibition together with Third Mayor Birgitta Klemenz (CSU), as well as Moritz Hickethier, who set off for the Ukrainian border with relief supplies shortly after the outbreak of war.