Photos showing scenes from everyday wartime in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv have been on display in the Red Town Hall since Tuesday. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey opened the exhibition together with former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko. His brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv. The photos show everyday scenes from the first few weeks after the Russian attack on Ukraine at the end of February.
“Pictures speak louder than words,” said Klitschko. “I have seen how fragile peace is, how fragile life is.” The photos reminded me of that. They show, for example, the removal of destroyed cars after a Russian rocket attack, a cyclist in front of a bombed-out house, but also young people playing basketball in front of a destroyed gym, six boys playing on a soccer field in front of a bombed-out high-rise building or a horn player from the symphony orchestra in Kyiv, who is now a soldier and plays his instrument in front of bomb debris.
“These are pictures that must touch everyone,” said Giffey, who went through the exhibition with Klitschko and had him explain details about the motifs.
Klitschko, who came to Berlin to represent his brother, then thanked Germany for the photo exhibition and for the support. “I would like to ask you not to stop this,” he said. That is enormously important. “We want to free our country from the Russian invaders,” he said. “We don’t know when peace will come.”
The exhibition, titled “Kyiv is the Unbreakable Heart of Europe,” was inspired by a suggestion by Kyiv’s Deputy Mayor Mikola Povoroznyk during a conversation with the Governing Mayor at the end of September.
According to the Senate Chancellery, it is a sign of solidarity with the citizens of the Ukrainian capital. The pictures by Ukrainian photographers can be seen in the Red Town Hall until January 3, 2023, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.
