'You See, Touch The War With Fingers': Ukraine War Gets Its Own Museum Show
Russian troops were marching on Kyiv not long ago, and today the tale of this chapter of heartbreaking invasion is being retold in the form of a museum exhibition.
The wounds are still fresh. The devastation in Ukraine has left grieving hearts longing for closure. The dust hasn't even settled yet.
Russian troops were marching to Kyiv not long ago, and today the tale of the heartbreaking invasion is being retold in the form of a museum exhibition.
Reuters
Ukrainians are flocking to a new exhibition in Kyiv, which displays objects found after the Russian army was forced to withdraw from areas it captured around the capital, even as war rages elsewhere in the country.
REUTERS
The exhibition, titled "Ukraine¡ªCrucifixion," is housed in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.
Russia has destroyed a Kharkiv region museum dedicated to Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda with a targeted airstrike. Putin is openly attempting to eradicate all symbols of Ukrainian culture and national identity pic.twitter.com/HRUGliDhGO
¡ª Business Ukraine mag (@Biz_Ukraine_Mag) May 7, 2022
Missiles, food rations, helmets, and other objects abandoned in the region north of Kyiv are in the exhibition at a World War II museum¡ªknown as the "Great Patriotic War" in Ukraine.
REUTERS
Personal notes and credit cards of Russian soldiers killed on the front line are exhibited in glass cabinets, providing an essential early record of the carnage. Their passports indicate how young they were at the time.
Reuters
There are jars of halal borscht soup that were supplied to Muslim Chechen fighters appointed by their commander, Ramzan Kadyrov, an ardent Vladimir Putin supporter. Some came from far away, as shown by a shattered Siberian license plate.
Ukraine War/reuters
Curator Yuriy Savchuk said he wanted "to respond to Russian propaganda," adding that Moscow has set up its own show "on the so-called fascism that should be fought in Ukraine. "You can see and touch the war with your fingertips here," he added. "That's also the point: to shock people into realizing what's going on."
It may appear bizarre that Ukrainians want a reminder of a war they are still witnessing. However, not everyone in Ukraine had seen the battle firsthand, and many people wanted to know what unfolded.
"It's actually really hard to look at this," said 26-year-old visitor Zoya Didok. "It's a good thing I didn't live in one of those villages when the Russians were there."
Ukraine chose today to open in Kyiv the first museum exhibition the war with Russia. It¡¯s a fascinating example of how a historic narrative is being made of an event still ongoing pic.twitter.com/ada4bAcUQu
¡ª Anshel Pfeffer ????? ??? (@AnshelPfeffer) May 8, 2022
A reconstruction of a makeshift shelter from Hostomel near Kyiv's airport can be seen in one of the museum's cellars.
Ukraine War/reuters
For 37 days, the original sheltered dozens of people, including children and a six-month-old baby. However, in the humid, unsanitary conditions, two people succumbed.
The saved ?? flag, which fluttered over #Azovstal in #Mariupol, was handed over to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in WW2.
¡ª MFA of Ukraine ?? (@MFA_Ukraine) June 5, 2022
This symbol of ?? heroism and resilience will be one of the main showpiece of the ¡°#Ukraine ¨C Crucifixion¡± exhibition.#StandWithUkraine? pic.twitter.com/AJSwyZWtk4
On a screen on the wall, a baby's mother could be seen giving a chilling video testimony.
A church gate ripped through by shrapnel on the first floor of the museum opens to reveal a room filled with artwork inspired by the conflict. To show their grief, Ukrainian artists have repurposed materials from Russia's invasion.
Ukraine
A grenade hidden under a toy in a sandpit tells the horrid tale of how the childhood of millions of young Ukrainians was lost.
Reuters
The exhibition also contains a broken World War II memorial from Hostomel, drawing a powerful parallel between the two conflicts. All the war artifacts in the exhibition were collected between April 4 and May 5. The Ukrainian army and government supported in the show's quick start on May 8.
(With AFP inputs)
(For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.)
