IMI contacts the SBU over the vandal attack on their wartime photo exhibition

The photo exhibition The War Is Not Over Yet, which takes place in Illinsky Square in Kyiv, has been vandalised to spread Russian propaganda, deny Russia's aggression against Ukraine and show contempt towards Ukrainian journalists.

The stands display the stories and photos of reporters, camerapeople, photographers, fixers who were killed, injured or captured since February 24, 2022. The exhibition covers the stories of journalists who were injured while reporting, as well as journalists who died as combatants defending our country in the ranks of the Armed Forces. Their photos were defaced with insults and statements denying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine written over them.

Photos by the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity

The exhibition is co-organized by PEN Ukraine, Institute of Mass Information, Human Rights Center ZMINA, National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, Heorhiy Gongadze Award, Kyiv City Center of Folk Art and Cultural Studies.

IMI has contacted the SBU's main office in Kyiv city and Kyiv oblast and the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office regarding an investigation into the crime.

The exhibition opened in Illinsky Square in Kyiv (Podil district) on September 16, 2023, on the day of rememberance of Heorhiy Gongadze and all journalists murdered in Ukraine. It was supposed to last until October 8, but on October 2 the partners noticed the offensive signs and dismantled the stands.

The Institute of Mass Information and partners ask the owners of security cameras near the Illinsky Square in the capital's Podil district to provide them with copies of the video recordings that will help identify the perpetrators or anyone who may have noticed the crime. Please contact the police and the Institute of Mass Information.

In a year and a half, the exhibition about the journalists the world has to thank for learning about the war unleashed on Ukraine by Russia has visited eight Ukrainian cities: Khmelnytsky, Kharkiv, Ternopil, Poltava, Kyiv, Boyarka, Vinnytsia and Odesa. This is the first time that such an incident happens.

"For the entire time the photo exhibition was on display, this is the first time that we encounter such an incident. Seeing the faces of your colleagues who were killed, wounded or captured after the start of the full-scale war vandalised with slurs is unpleasant and difficult, to say the least. Moreover, the offensive inscriptions on the stands echo the narratives of Russian propaganda, denial of Russia's aggression. IMI has filed a statement with the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor's Office on behalf of all organizers, we hope that the culprits will be brought to justice as soon as possible. We will be waiting for the law enforcers' work to yield result," said the director of the IMI, Oksana Romaniuk.

As you know, since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 536 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine, as evidenced by the monitoring by the Institute of Mass Information.