News
11.07.2023
Victor Pinchuk Foundation Opens Russian War Crimes Exhibition during 2023 NATO Summit
On 10 July 2023, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and PinchukArtCentre in partnership with the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukrainian embassy in Lithuania opened the Russian War Crimes exhibition during the NATO summit in Vilnius. The project shows photos taken from all over Ukraine since the start of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Even so, it only addresses a fraction of the committed crimes. It makes the participants of the summit witness the stories of torture, executions, and bombardments committed by Russians against Ukraine’s servicemen and civilians.
H.E. Mrs. Viktorija Čmilyte-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Victor Pinchuk, founder of the Foundation and PinchukArtCentre, Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal delivered introductory remarks.
Opening the exhibition, Viktorija Čmilyte-Nielsen said: "We have to make sure that after the clock of war stroke 500 days, it doesn’t turn merely into a news story, that we don’t overlook human suffering behind it, and that all of us unite our effort for justice. And justice is very important. When Ukraine wins, peace needs to be just, meaning that war criminals need to be brought to justice."
"We also need to make sure that the perpetrator, not the victim, pays the bill for the destruction," she stressed.
"Another important element of justice is that we have to make sure that in the future architecture of international relations no country is allowed to behave like Russia did for so many years trying the borders of tolerance, using with impunity three key things - Western dependencies, nuclear blackmail and illusions that were very comfortable for the Western world," Viktorija Čmilyte-Nielsen concluded.
Victor Pinchuk took the floor speaking about the important role of NATO in modern security architecture: "We are in Vilnius now and this is a new world where NATO will play a vitally important role. But NATO needs big changes, and in addition to sober analysis, NATO needs inspiration. Inspiration and creativity can emerge from emotions, which is why we want people to feel the sufferings of Ukrainians. And we are sure that this exhibition will contribute to the victory of Ukraine. We also hope that this will be the last straw to convince NATO member states to make a very brave, wise and generous decision to invite Ukraine to the Alliance immediately after our victory and provide Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees."
Andriy Yermak spoke to the audience in a video address and called for using Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula as a guide to international peace restoration: "The concept of justice is simple - the guilty must be punished and the damages that were caused must be covered, the repetition of crime must be prevented."
Denys Shmyhal also called on Ukraine’s allies to back Zelenskyy’s peace formula: "No peace is possible without justice. And justice is impossible without the accountability of those who unleashed this terrible war. "
He informed the participants of the opening ceremony that Ukraine had registered 113,000 of Russia’s crimes. At least 10,500 civilians had been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he specified.
"Together, in a coordinated and consistent way, we should develop a mechanism to hold the aggressor accountable. We are already doing this - our response is to set up a special international tribunal that will hold Russia's top political leadership accountable."
Denys Shmyhal also informed that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe had already decided to establish an international registry of damage that Russia caused to Ukraine to collect funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Photos from the Exhibition Opening are available here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ckbsjf8rxh9hw9d/AABEwxLOeS9EredKIXiJHLdja?dl=0
Video from the Exhibition Opening is here https://youtube.com/live/mEAYdK8bUaw?feature=share
