At the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg, a photo exhibition titled "Dawn" has been opened ahead of the second anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The exhibition consists of a series of photographs depicting Ukrainian children whose homes, villages, and cities were destroyed by occupiers. The photos were taken by the renowned French photographer of Ukrainian origin, Yuriy Bilak. This information was reported by a correspondent of the Ukrinform news agency in France.
"These children should be in school, playing with friends, spending time with their families, dreaming of the future. Instead, hundreds of Ukrainian children have been killed, over a thousand wounded, and tens of thousands abducted and taken to Russia, Belarus, or to Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation," said Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as he opened the exhibition.
He emphasized that the international community should not forget that behind all these statistics are specific children whose lives have been destroyed directly as a result of Russia's heinous crimes.
"Through these powerful photographs, Yuriy Bilak reveals the harsh reality of childhood overshadowed by the consequences of Russian aggression and reminds us of the joys and security unfairly deprived of these young souls," noted Boris Tarasyuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe.
According to the Ukrainian diplomat, this serves as a reminder of our shared duty to protect innocent children and tirelessly work for a world where peace, dialogue, and diplomacy prevail over war and aggression.
Yuriy Bilak was born in France to a Ukrainian family that arrived there after the Second World War. He has been photographing Ukraine since 2014, documenting events such as the Revolution of Dignity and the Russo-Ukrainian War, living and capturing images in the Hutsul region, and descending into the mines of Donbas.
