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"Ukraine. Life in front of the tanks" photo exhibition signed by AGERPRES journalist Cristian Lupascu was opened on Wednesday in northeastern City of Iasi.
"These are very harsh images, captured in several large towns of Ukraine, where the Russian army's attacks and bombings were very intense and serious, resulting in many deaths. They are images of heritage buildings that are no longer there today. We also have images of the city of Vinnytsia a few minutes after it was attacked with two Russian missiles, where more than 30 people died and more than 200 were injured. These are shocking images. People must not forget that there is still a war in Ukraine and that the scenes captured by me at that time are repeated daily, if not many times a day," journalist Cristian Lupascu said at the opening.
The event held at the La Gard Art Gallery in Copou Park was attended on Wednesday by the managing director of the AGERPRES National News Agency, Claudia Nicolae, the mayor of Iasi, Mihai Chirica, the director of the Mihai Ursachi Culture House, Adi Cristi, as well as by the director of the public television's TVR Iasi Territorial Studio, Catalin Sava.
"It is an exhibition through which our colleague Cristian Lupascu wishes to bring into discussion first of all the reality on the ground. For us, journalists, it is the most important weapon when we have our own colleagues on the ground. (...) We, as journalists, are used to seeing and hearing a lot. However, even for us these images seem to exceed the limit of sensitivity and empathy," Claudia Nicolae, the managing director of the AGERPRES National News Agency said.
Mayor Mihai Chirica emphasized that AGERPRES is "a news agency that offers trust and credibility at the same time".
"The exhibition is welcome because, first of all, it is made by AGERPRES, a news agency that offers trust and credibility at the same time. It is not a joke. We are not talking about manipulation, which would divide the waters from the waters. We simply want to see and at the same time present to the whole world what the truth is. What happened in a war, who really are the victims of a war? Who are soldiers and who are civilians? Here the journalist wanted to show that the drama does not belong to the soldiers, but it is of those who suffer the consequences of these battles: parents, old people, children, people of all professions who no longer have homes, no longer have relatives, whose legs are torn and scattered on the streets. These are the realities of the war," Chirica said.
Among the images exhibited are: the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in the war started by the Russian Federation in Storozhynets, the center of the city of Vinnytsia - attacked with missiles, food queues in Borodyanka, houses, blocks and institutional objectives in Kharkiv destroyed by the Russian army, Russian tanks destroyed in Bucha following an offensive of the Ukrainian army, the bombing of the bridge in Borodyanka, which connects Kyiv with Poland, a search mission for survivors in Borodyanka, after the bombing of the city, abandoned or stored munitions of war.
Present at the opening of the exhibition, Ala Butuc, a refugee from Odessa, declared herself impressed, confessing that "her soul aches" for all these people who are suffering.
"I am very glad that this journalist went and showed through the photos he has taken what happened in a country like Ukraine, where it is bad and very bad. Through his images, the journalist captured the situation and understood how our life was affected. I've just looked at the photos and my heart broke. My heart aches for all the children, for all the people who are suffering. It's not normal, it's not good. We thank the Romanians for helping us, support us, offered us work," Ala said.
The exhibition can be visited in Iasi between November 6 and 27.
Cristian Lupascu is an AGERPRES journalist since 2006. From the beginning of the war, he has made six trips to Ukraine, between March and July 2022.
