Digital photo exhibition „Kyiv is the Unbreakable Heart of Europe“

Text by the city of Kyiv describing and setting out the background to the photo exhibition „Kyiv is the Unbreakable Heart of Europe“:

The history of Kyiv is at least 1,500 years old. Historical facts convincingly testify that since the days of Kyivan Rus, Kyiv has gravitated towards a European identity. Having rather intense connections precisely with the young European civilization, not with the Eurasian empire of Genghis Khan's descendants. Among the historical examples that vividly illustrate this are Kyiv's acceptance of Christianity as a pan-European religion; allied relations with Germany and the Polish kingdom of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv; at the end of the 15th century, Kyiv received the Magdeburg Law - one of the most widespread legal systems of city self-government in Europe.

The civilizational orientation of Kyiv to be the heart of Europe is not only a tribute to ancient historical ties. Ukraine is not only the geographical center of Europe, but also mentally connected to it - this is a conscious choice of every Ukrainian. And it is for this choice of European values that thousands of Ukrainians are dying today, protecting all of Europe from russian imperialism and neo-nazism.

On February 24 Kyiv was one of the first cities to be attacked by the Russian invaders. Fierce battles continued for more than a month as russian troops neared Kyiv, only a few kilometres from the capital. As a result of this endurance marathon in Kyiv, near 790 infrastructure facilities and apartment buildings were damaged or destroyed and there were many casualties among the civilian population. But thanks to the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers, the invaders were driven back from the Kyiv region, which will still be recovering from their suffering for a long time to come. The threat of a repeat attack remains, but the Ukrainians are an unconquerable nation and the city of Kyiv is undestructible.

The photos reveal the hero cities — Kyiv and the surrounding towns — which have endured an incredible amount of suffering for the sake of the future of the entire European community.