Entitled 24.02, with reference to the date of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the open-air showcase runs from Wednesday in downtown Riga, opposite the Russian embassy, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The foundation's Temistokles Brodowski said the photographs “document the human drama of fleeing war, and the support extended by the Polish people in a gesture of neighbourly solidarity.”
The 16 photos by Maciej Biedrzycki were selected to show the range of emotions experienced by refugees, from anxiety to sadness, but also the kindness and care shown to them by volunteers in Poland, officials said.
PFN CEO Marcin Zarzecki told PAP that the exhibition represented “a warning against indifference” and was designed to keep alive people’s interest in the war in Ukraine.
He added that Poland had become regarded by many as “a humanitarian superpower” for the way its people and institutions welcomed refugees from Ukraine.
PFN said the showcase was dedicated to "the heroic fighters for Ukraine’s freedom" and to the war refugees, and would hopefully “influence people’s assessment of the criminal actions inflicted on an innocent nation by the Russian regime.”
The 24.02 exhibition has previously been shown in Warsaw, Madrid and Vilnius, according to officials.
Since the Kremlin’s February 2022 full-scale assault on Ukraine, the Polish National Foundation has run and supported various projects to assist war refugees, including help for unwell children from Ukraine, evacuation of child oncological patients to Poland, shipments of humanitarian aid for victims of Russian aggression and scholarships for Ukrainian medical workers, the PAP news agency reported.
The foundation has also helped safeguard Ukraine’s cultural heritage objects and publish a Ukrainian-Polish dictionary, as well as providing logistics support for foreign media outlets documenting the situation on the Ukrainian border, according to officials.
PFN was established in 2016 by 17 state-run enterprises, including the energy giant Orlen, the PKO BP bank and the Polish rail carrier PKP, the PAP news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 554 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, PFN