On May 30 the photo exhibition «Year of Invincibility. The point of no return» was presented in the Romanian Parliament 

Over the past 4 days, Russia has launched 140 strikes on the territory of Ukraine with drones and missiles, killing three civilians and injuring 14 more. As Russia conducts the largest-scale war in Europe since the Second World War, destroying and taking the lives of Ukrainian civilians, we are telling the world about Russia’s crimes and reminding Europe that the war is much closer than it may seem.

The photo exhibition «Year of Invincibility. The point of no return» was created in February 2023 based on the photos and video proofs of Russians` crimes in Ukraine. The materials have been collected by the team of Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center on newly liberated territories of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions. The exhibition was presented for the first time on 24 February 2023 near the UN Headquarters in Geneva.

After more than a year of full-scale war and numerous failures at the front, Russia is beginning to use hybrid methods more actively in the West: expanding its network of influence in Europe to destabilize the situation inside the states and push them toward isolationism – focusing on their internal problems instead of helping Ukraine in the war.

By using its agents among politicians and officials, spreading disinformation, creating and intensifying internal conflicts within the states, Russia is trying to bring Ukraine to the table of negotiations and gain time to regroup its troops for a new attack.

“Everyone who sees themselves as part of European politics must decide whether they take a principled stand in the fight against evil until justice is fully achieved, or whether they side with evil, because they want to temporarily postpone the inevitable future Russian aggression at someone else’s expense. The strong and clear position of our President, the government and the entire Ukrainian people is to have no compromise with evil, only a principled fight in which everyone can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine fighting for the truth and share our mutual Victory. One of the most important steps towards this goal is to deprive Russian agents of any influence on the life of Western countries. And we know that Romania stands with us in this battle for the freedom for the world”, – highlighted Serhii Kuzan, USCC Chairman at the opening of a photo exhibition in the Romanian Parliament.

Speakers of the event were: Serhii Kuzan – USCC Chairman, Ihor Prokopchuk – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Romania, Nicolae-Miroslav Petrețchi – Member of the Romanian Parliament, Chairman of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania, Cristian Băcanu – Member of the National Liberal Party, Radu Mihail – Senator, Chairman of the “Union to Save Romania” parliamentary group, Teodor Mărieș – the President of NGO ГО “Association December 21, 1989.”, Laurențiu Řtefănescu –– the President of a public platform “Initiativa Timișoara”. 

“Ensuring fair peace, not just a temporary ceasefire, requires defeating the aggressor. Ukraine has demonstrated the ability to stop Russian aggression, defeat the invading forces and force them to retreat from the occupied territories. For complete liberation, Ukraine should receive military, financial, economic, and humanitarian assistance as long as it is needed.”, – said Ihor Prokopchuk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Bucharest

During the full-scale war, the world saw with its own eyes what Russia is made of. We heard about Ukrainian cities: Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izyum, and dozens of others-not because of their beauty, but because of the genocide committed by Russians there. Similarly, Romania remembers well from its history what the Kremlin’s terror is.

“No one thought that in the 21st century, humanity would face such a horrible war, that what our grandmothers told us about or we read in historical books would happen again. Romania was one of the first countries 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 more strength to continue supporting Ukraine from the democratic world”, – said Nicolae-Miroslav Petrețchi – Member of the Romanian Parliament, Chairman of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania.

Each pro-Russian demonstration, each call to end the war under any conditions, and each vetoed law to support Ukraine are desperate attempts of Russia to achieve at least some results. However, for Ukraine’s victory and the security of the international community, Russia must be stopped at the global level. The terrorist state must be punished for all its crimes, and its network of influence must be identified and localized. 

“The EU flag always returns to the de-occupied territories along with the flag of Ukraine. By presenting the exhibition in Bucharest, we wanted to show a small part of the evil that the “Russian world” brought to Ukraine – through the destroyed kindergartens, broken civilian houses, through the stories of people who lost everything but survived. The world must finally realize that the Russian threat is closer than it seems to be”, – said Solomiia Khoma, moderator of the event and coordinator of international cooperation at USCC. 

We are grateful the Romanian Parliament, the Embassy of Ukraine in Romania, and the Union of Ukrainians in Romania for their support and participation in the event.

The photo project «Year of Invincibility. The point of no return» was created by the USCC team. You may copy and distribute the materials only under the previous written consent from the USCC representatives.