Ukrainians have become a symbol of courage and indomitability for the entire democratic world. Our defenders resisted and continue to defend not only our own land from the russian invaders, but also the values of freedom and independence.
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, the columns of the world press were full of Ukrainian symbols; numerous materials appeared about the struggle and sacrifice of our people.
The collection consists of 96 covers of the world’s most influential magazines and reflects the course of the war through the eyes of journalists, illustrators and photographers from Poland, Germany, France, Great Britain, the USA, Austria, China, Greece, Portugal and Japan.
Curator – Kateryna Baranovska
The author of the idea – Lyudmila Rybchenko
Design, animation, programming – Oleksiy Raldugin
365 days of one year... Like one hard day that still goes on. February 24, 2022 never seemed to end, it remains a black day in the history of Ukrainians, the day when Russia waged a full-scale aggression on our country.
The war changed the sense of time and space, blurring the time boundaries of events.
it is important to remember how it all began. It is time to outline the events and senses that mattered most, that kept us from despairing and losing hope. The news and images that inspired, united, made us strong and uncompromising. Let’s look deeper into them: name the heroes, comprehend the greatness of their deeds, honor the fallen, and learn about the historical origins of Ukrainian resilience. This is necessary to keep going, to complete our victorious path because fate has left Ukraine no other choice.
The first section of the exhibition tells about those who, having sworn allegiance to the people and Ukraine, resisted the enemy from the first day: the President, the “Omega” Special Forces, the “Ghosts of Kyiv” pilots, the first Heroes of Ukraine, the defenders of Zmiinyi Island.
The second section is devoted to civilians who united and formed a reliable rear for the army. It includes stories about the fighters of the Territorial Defense Forces, evacuation, historical sources of Ukrainian invincibility, volunteer activities, and the Resistance Movement in the occupied territory.
A timeline of the first events of the invasion and quotes from Ukrainians on social media convey the tension of February 24, 2022. At the same time, the photo of Vokzalna Street in Bucha and the painted fence from there inspire hope. Hope for the Victory and Resurrection of wounded Ukraine.
Entrance fee: adults – UAH 30, students and school pupils – UAH 20.
Opening hours:
- Tuesday - Sunday: 10 am - 6 pm
- The ticket office is open till 5.45 pm
The project “Defenders” is about the brave, courageous, steel, steadfast, strong, heroic, beautiful ones. There are expressive pictures of the Ukrainian warriors, who have been fiercely resisting the total evil for over a year, defending homeland and protecting the safety of Europe and the world.
The photos were taken during the museum expedition, which took place in July 2022 with the support of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Director General of the Museum Yurii Savchuk and the museum photographer and volunteer from Sweden Andrzej Markiewicz made a trip to the locations of military units. Being in the sites of units on the territory of the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Kyiv regions, the museum team photographed service members of various types and branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thousands of kilometers were covered along the frontline, the majestic images of the warriors were caught on camera.
The details of each image are perfectly recreated. The best photo lab of Sweden and Europe Crimson provided the highest-quality printing of the pictures on the free basis.
Here they are, near us, our knights in the uniforms of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Look into each one’s eyes and pray for them. Mentally thank the warriors for you being alive. Thank for Ukraine!
Entrance fee: adults – UAH 30, students and school pupils – UAH 20.
Opening hours:
- Tuesday - Sunday: 10 am - 6 pm
- The ticket office is open till 5.45 pm
"I slept well, woke up and smiled..." - the first chapter of the children’s diary called "War" begins with this cute note. In it, 8-year-old resident of Mariupol, Yehor Kravtsov, described the one hundred days of occupation of the city, which he experienced with his mother and sister in the spring of 2022. Joyful events on the pages of the diary alternate with descriptions of wounds, deaths of beloved ones and the death of a beloved city. Relatives of Yehor could not read his notes without tears and, when they got out of Mariupol, posted them on social networks. The children’s chronicles of the occupation became known around the world as the "Mariupol Diary".
Now Yehor’s diary is available not only for reading, but also for watching and listening. The museum created an animated film where the notes of Yehor had been voiced by him.
Idea - Iryna Kоtsabyuk. Animation – Den Pinko.
The exhibition on the Russian-Ukrainian war “Ukraine – Crucifixion” is opened for the visitors in the Museum.
For the first time in the world museum practice, the stationary exposition on the ongoing war was created in the real time. With the help of the authentic materials and photos, the horrible realities of the full-scale Russian aggression are highlighted.
Visit us in the exhibition center of the Museum (27 Lavrska Street, Kyiv).
Working hours:
- Tuesday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the tickets are available until 3.45 p.m.
- Saturday – Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the tickets are available until 4.45 p.m.
- Entrance fee: adults – UAH 50, students and school pupils – UAH 30
- Excursion fee per group – UAH 150 for adults, UAH 100 for school pupils, UAH 300 for a tour in English
Please, follow the rules of conduct:
- for visiting the exhibition center, we recommend to register and book an excursion by phone +38 044 285 88 62 or by filling online form
- visit is possible without the registration, as well as excursion without booking, in the case of vacancies.
We care of your safety:
- in the case of the air siren, the entrance of the new visitors to exposition is stopped, however, the visitors of the Memorial can go to the shelter with the seats and water available
- entrance to the exhibition center is equipped with the metal detector. It is prohibited to bring the forbidden, flammable and explosive materials, cold weapon and guns, as well as large-sized items
- the space of the exhibition center is equipped with the additional means for firefighting
The multimedia project “Children…” under the arch of the Upper Moscow Gate of the 18th century of the Pechersk Fortress is presented.
It is impossible to estimate the real number of the killed and wounded children, as the occupiers continue the active hostilities. However, the known number of lost lives is reflected in the symbolic account. The names of the dead appear on the symbolic altar, and those who have now turned into angels are watching us from eye to eye.
The tragedy of this performance is stressed by the artwork “Tree of Life”, the metaphor of the children’s deaths in the war. The red boxes contain the belongings of the children found in the museum expedition to the newly liberated areas of the Kyiv region. The black branches form the symbol of the fortitude of all Ukraine as the united family.
Ertrance is free.
Working hours:
- Tuesday – Sunday – from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On the Independence Day of Ukraine, the highest European monument “Motherland” is illuminated with the colors of the National Flag. Throughout the day, air-raid sirens sound endlessly all over the territory of our country. The wave of Russian aggression does not die down, but the Ukrainians are undefeated. This year, we are holding such an event for the third time. This is how we demonstrate the national courage, determination and unity respected by the whole world in the fight for our Independence – all the way to Victory!
Happy Independence Day of Ukraine!
The exhibition is dedicated to the history of military and economic cooperation of the United Nations during the Second World War and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. It actualizes the continuity of mutual assistance traditions of democratic countries in struggling against aggressive dictatorships. The exhibition dispels the myths produced in the USSR and modern Russia about the insignificant impact of the Lend-Lease on the victory over Nazism and militarism. After exhibiting the project, we prepared its online version.
The exhibition presents the items from collections of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, The National Archives and Records Administration (USA), The Library of Congress (USA), the artifacts donated by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, defenders of the state, and materials taken from open sources. The exhibition covers the period of 1941–1945 and 2021–2022. It highlights the history of the Second World War and the struggle of the Ukrainian people for independence and state sovereignty in our time. A significant number of artifacts are displayed for the first time.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, our Museum has been fulfilling its main tasks. It documents the war events and remains active at the different platforms, making its contribution to the informational resistance to enemy. Now the important work is being done with the international partners.
Recently, the illustrator from France Régis Hector, who works in the “Options” (“Minds”) newspaper, shared his caricatures on the Russian-Ukrainian war with the Museum. These 11 impressive works reflect the invincible resistance of the Ukrainians to the Russian invasion and their courage in defending the European future of their country, the false expectations of the invaders to rule over Ukraine, and the totalitarian origin of Putin’s regime.
The Museum popularizes these works on its web-resources and social media. In future, the caricatures will be used in different museum projects to inform the world on this Russian-Ukrainian war. It will be our common contribution to the resistance to aggressor at the informational front.
Sharing the caricatures is the result of the active French-Ukrainian partnership. The significant event was the presentation of the Museum’s photo exhibition “Kyiv: One-Day Report. March 8, 2022” in Verdun on March 23. Its focus is one day in the life of the Ukrainian capital in the wartime.
We are sincerely grateful to Mr. Hector for sending his works, and our partner, the Director of the World Center for Peace, Freedom and Human Rights in Verdun Philippe Hansch for cooperation and all-round support.
