The exhibition was organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Moldova in cooperation with the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, and the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity.
“In the year the Lavra marks its 975th anniversary, we feel especially acutely how important it is to protect not only the monuments but also the truth about them. The Russians are destroying our shrines while waging a cognitive war against Ukrainian history, culture, and identity,” said Maksym Ostapenko, General Director of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.”
During the opening, the Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova, Igor Grosu, expressed support for the Ukrainian people. He noted that the photographs of shrines damaged by the war convey a sad and painful reality, and called for the exhibition to be presented in other state institutions.
The event was attended by representatives of government authorities, the diplomatic corps accredited in Moldova, international organizations, the Ukrainian community, and civil society.
“Destroyed Ukrainian churches are not simply buildings damaged by the Russian army. Behind each of them is the history of a community, human memory, a part of our cultural heritage that needs not only protection but also the world’s solidarity. We want as many people from different countries as possible to see this exhibition, because the destruction of Ukrainian shrines is not only our loss but also part of the destruction of world cultural heritage,” said Yaryna Yasynevych, Program Director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
In early August, the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” and the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation signed a memorandum to jointly hold events and implement projects dedicated to Ukrainian history and culture. The exhibition in Moldova became one of the results of this cooperation.
