Ukraine takes over former party hub Russia House
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A picture exhibit illustrating alleged Ukrainian war crimes is on display at the “Russian Warcrimes House”. The organizers hope that this exhibition will assist the Davos elite in making future war-related decisions.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images
DAVOS, Switzerland — The war in Ukraine is top of the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, with a keynote address from President Volodymyr ZelenskyySeveral prominent politicians also called for greater West-West cooperation.
The former Russia House is located just a few minutes from the WEF Congress Center. This house was home to Russian politicians and businessmen who used to host networking events and meetings in the past. The World Economic Forum barred them from participating in this year’s event due to Moscow’s invasion unprovoked of neighboring countries.
It has been replaced by an exhibition that examines war crimes perpetrated by Russia’s military. This is based on data from Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies as well as Amnesty International, an international human rights organization.
Russia has been coming to Davos over the years in order to represent itself the best it could. However, representing Russia the real way it is, it’s very important. This is what we’re doing here,” Bjorn Gebhof (artistic director of PinchukArtCentre, a Kyiv-based PinchukArtCentre) told CNBC.
“We are representing war crimes that Russia is committing in Ukraine, but war crimes that were also committed in Chechnya, that were also committed in Syria — so what we are showing is the reality from Russia that most people don’t speak about,” he said.
Davos attendees will be able to see approximately a dozen photos of wounded civilians as well as destroyed buildings. Russian forces are accused of several war crimes, including some that have been committed in Syria. documented by international organizations such as Human Rights Watch.
Russia repeatedly denies allegations of war crimes, and insists that it has not targeted civilians, in spite of overwhelming evidence.
Davos’ Russia House was transformed into “Russian Warcrimes House”, which features a photograph exhibition of alleged war crime.
Getty Images| AFP | Getty Images
The Davos crowd has never been exposed to such a reality. Geldhof stated that they were incredibly sensitive and start to see the truth.
The exhibition isn’t new for two Ukrainian women who volunteered to support their army. CNBC’s Lana, 36, said that they are “used to this.” Lana is wearing her military uniform.
Ulyana and she are together in Davos, “to meet some people who wish to assist Ukraine.” We have very little time [left],” Lana said.
Kyiv is asking for heavier weapons from the West to end the violence in Ukraine’s eastern region. This has been the fourth month of conflict. According to the latest reports, 38 towns were hit in the Luhansk and Donetsk areas on Monday.
Olly, a Ukrainian-born 35-year-old man is visiting Davos as well to raise awareness about what is happening back home.
“Ukraine must remain on the agenda till the conflict is solved.” He said that Russia taking over Ukraine would send a negative signal to the world. Olly, who is currently living with his parents in Turkey is pursuing his dream of returning home.
“I love the country,” he declared. When asked about what European leaders can do to help Kyiv more, he replied: “Ammunition.”
Zelenskyy speech
These words were spoken by the three Ukrainians in response to a speech that President Volodymyr Zilenskyy delivered Monday via videolink to Davos’ elite.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for all the help he has received so far but called for more actions such as a call to Moscow to assist in rebuilding Ukraine. “I invite you to take part in this rebuilding, the amount work is enormous, we have more than half trillion dollars losses … we need to rebuild entire cities and industry,” he said.
Ukrainian President suggested that Ukraine might not have been fighting the war if Western nations had supported Russia better in 2014.
One attendee who was not able to identify himself due to sensitive circumstances said Zelenskyy couldn’t afford to disrupt the WEF gathering because private companies can play an important role in reconstruction of Ukraine.
Arshdeep sethi, a senior manager at realty company RMZ corp said he enjoyed Zelenskyy’s attention to practical solutions in reconstruction. “He is an expert in his field. [the]”The damage is already done, and it is urgent that we raise capital,” he stated.
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