The museum has collected items from the frontline of war and liberated territories. Image: Big Issue
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In the centre of Kyiv in Ukraine, as war continues, a national history museum remains open. It still welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to its impressive underground space despite the ongoing destruction of the city and the country, as Ukrainians grip to any semblance of normality.
The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War has brought a small part of its work to London this week, supported by the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK. The exhibition, Indomitable Ukraine, displays artefacts collected from the frontline of the current war – recovered directly from the battlefield and shipped to the UK for public view for the first time.
A diary of a Russian soldier, remaining parts of a warplane, medals, authentic uniforms, weaponry and artwork are among the 600 exhibits drawn from the frontline and liberated territories. It tells the story of Ukrainian people fighting to protect their independence and freedom.
This is deeply meaningful for Yuliia Paievska, a Ukrainian medic known as ‘Taira’ who was imprisoned by Russian soldiers in 2022. At the launch event of the exhibition, dressed in uniform, she spoke to the Big Issue about her story and her hopes for the future of her country.
“The world must get inside and must be aware of what we are dealing with,” Paieveska said. “Sometimes our mind is wiped in a way to shield us from what gets us scared. What Russia is doing is totally horrifying. It’s difficult to imagine.”
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Paievska founded the volunteer ambulance corps ‘Taira’s Angels’ at the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014, a troop which has been credited with saving hundreds of lives. During the siege of Mariupol in March 2022, she documented her work with a body camera and smuggled the video out to reporters at the Associated Press.
The next day, Paievska was captured by Russians while assisting a wounded civilian. She was a prisoner of war for three months, freed in June that year.
Yuliia Paievska speaking at the launch event of Indomitable Ukraine. Behind her is former prime minister Boris Johnson, who also spoke at the event. Image: PHA Group
Paievska, who is a trained psychologist, described her experience while jailed. “Just imagine everything that is meaningful to you and valuable to you. You are deprived of those things. You are in full isolation. You are in full suppression. For 24 hours, you are under torture or psychological pressure. They try to beat you.
“Your only possession is what you are wearing. Nothing is given to you. No toothbrush. No soap. Nothing. It is like medieval torture. It does not look like a modern prison at all.”
Paievska says that she received medical treatment and has now rejoined her unit. She has been renowned as a symbol of resilience and heroism in Ukraine, but she says she does not feel that way. “There’s a lot of people like me in Ukraine. I don’t think I’m outstanding or something special. I’m just regular.”
She hopes that bringing Indomitable Ukraine to London will serve as a warning to people internationally about the threat of this war.
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“We shall warn you. We shall give you information. It’s like a sickness. It’s like a disease. Therapeutic methods could heal the situation in the world. The more time is wasted, the more serious surgical intervention will be needed. I hope to heal this disease. It is a threat to the whole world.”
Paievska urges people to support Ukraine and ask government representatives “not to let the world forget about this”. “I believe that if you do not do anything, if you stay idle and indifferent, one day you shall be driven out of your households and your home because Russians are going to destroy it,” she added.
The launch event of the exhibition was attended by the Ukrainian ambassador in the UK and political figures, including former prime minister Boris Johnson, who said in a speech that the UK and its allies lack “the will and the leadership and the sense of urgency” to do more to help Ukraine.
Johnson is well-liked in Ukraine for the support he offered at the start of the war.
Ambassador for Ukraine in the UK alongside families of British and Ukrainian soldiers. Image: Geordie Petrie
Indomitable Ukraine also honours British volunteers who went to fight for Ukraine who have died. Some of their families attended the launch event for the exhibition.
Paievska says she feels the support from British people for Ukraine remains strong.
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“Support has not decreased. It has become deeper. It has changed levels. There are fewer Ukrainian flags in London than there were before, but I feel British openness and support. It’s not the flags that matter. What matters is that it is inside the heart.”
The exhibition runs until 29 September at The Vinyl Factory, 16-18 Marshall Street, London W1F 7BE, open daily 11am-6pm.
