On May 30, the photo project ‘Year of Invincibility. The Point of No Return’ was presented at the Parliament of Romania.

Over the past four days, Russia has carried out 140 drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, killing three civilians and injuring another 14. While Russia is waging the largest war in Europe since World War II—destroying lives and infrastructure of peaceful Ukrainians—we are telling the world about Russia’s crimes and reminding Europe that the war is much closer than it may seem.

The photo project “Year of Invincibility. The Point of No Return” was created in February 2023 based on photo and video evidence of Russian crimes in Ukraine collected by the team of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation during Russia’s full-scale invasion, in newly de-occupied territories of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions. The exhibition was first presented on February 24, 2023, in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva.

After more than a year of full-scale war and numerous battlefield failures, Russia has begun to increasingly rely on hybrid methods in the West—expanding its networks of influence across Europe to destabilize internal political situations and push countries toward isolationism, shifting focus away from supporting Ukraine.

By activating its agents among politicians and officials, spreading disinformation, and fueling internal conflicts, Russia seeks to force Ukraine into negotiations and buy time to regroup its forces for a new offensive.

“Anyone who sees themselves as part of European politics must decide—whether they take a principled stand against evil until justice fully prevails, or side with evil in hopes of temporarily postponing the inevitable future Russian aggression at someone else’s expense. The firm position of our President, government, and the entire Ukrainian people is clear: no compromises with evil—only principled struggle. Everyone can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and share in our common Victory. One of the most important steps toward it is eliminating Russian agent networks’ influence in Western countries. And we know that Romania, in this battle for the freedom of the free world, stands with us,” emphasized UCCS Head Serhii Kuzan at the opening of the exhibition in the Romanian Parliament.

Speakers at the event included: Serhii Kuzan – Head of the UCCS; Ihor Prokopchuk – Ambassador of Ukraine to Bucharest; Nicolae-Miroslav Petrețchi – Member of the Romanian Parliament and Head of the Union of Ukrainians of Romania; Cristian Băcanu – MP from the National Liberal Party; Radu Mihail – Senator and Head of the parliamentary group “Save Romania Union”; Teodor Doru Mărieș – President of the NGO “Association December 21, 1989”; and Laurențiu Ștefănescu – President of the civic platform “Initiativa Timișoara”.

“Ensuring a just peace—not a temporary ceasefire—requires defeating the aggressor. Ukraine has demonstrated its ability to stop Russian aggression, defeat occupying forces, and force them to retreat from occupied territories. To fully liberate the country, Ukraine must continue receiving military, financial, economic, and humanitarian assistance for as long as necessary,” commented Ihor Prokopchuk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Bucharest.

Throughout the full-scale war, the world has seen with its own eyes what Russia truly is. It has learned the names of Ukrainian cities—Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izium, and dozens of others—not for their beauty, but for the genocide committed there by Russian forces. Romania, too, remembers from its own history what Kremlin terror means.

“No one imagined that in the 21st century humanity would face such a horrific war—that what our grandparents told us or what we read in history books would happen again. Romania was among the first to condemn Russian aggression at the legislative level. To prove to the world that this unprovoked aggression has no place in Europe, we will find even greater strength to continue supporting Ukraine from the democratic world,” stated Romanian MP and Head of the Union of Ukrainians of Romania, Nicolae-Miroslav Petrețchi.

Every pro-Russian rally, every call to end the war on any terms, every vetoed law on supporting Ukraine is a desperate attempt by Russia to achieve at least some result. However, for Ukraine’s victory and global security, Russia must be stopped at the international level. The terrorist state must face deserved punishment for all committed crimes, and its networks of influence must be identified and neutralized.

“The EU flag always returns to de-occupied territories together with the Ukrainian flag. By presenting the exhibition in Bucharest, we wanted to show a small part of the evil brought to Ukraine by the ‘Russian world’—through destroyed kindergartens, ruined civilian homes, and stories of people who lost everything but survived. The world must finally realize that the Russian threat is closer than it seems,” commented Solomiia Khoma, event moderator and UCCS International Cooperation Coordinator.

We thank the Parliament of Romania, the Embassy of Ukraine in Romania, and the Union of Ukrainians of Romania for their support and participation in organizing the event.

Background:
The photo project “Year of Invincibility. The Point of No Return” was created by the team of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation. Distribution or reproduction of materials is permitted only with the consent of UCCS representatives.