The “Russian War Crimes House” is displaying a photo exhibition documenting alleged war crimes taking place in Ukraine. Organizers hope this will help the elite in Davos make future decisions about the war.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | beautiful pictures
DAVOS, Switzerland – The war in Ukraine is top of the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, with the President’s keynote address Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several prominent politicians called for the West to do more.
A few minutes’ walk from the main WEF Congress Center is the former Russian House, where Russian businessmen and politicians used to hold networking meetings and events in previous years. But the World Economic Forum banned them from this year’s event following Moscow’s gratuitous invasion of its neighbour.
In its place today is an art exhibition focusing on war crimes committed by the Russian military, using data from Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and the human rights organization Amnesty International.
“Russia has been going to Davos for many years to present itself the way it believes it should show to the world … but to represent Russia in a real way, I think that’s very important. That’s what we’re doing here,” Bjorn Geldhof, artistic director of Kyiv-based PinchukArtCentre and curator of the exhibition, told CNBC.
“We are representing the war crimes that Russia is committing in Ukraine, but the war crimes that have also been committed in Chechnya, have also been committed in Syria – so what we are doing now the reality from Russia that most people don’t talk about,” he said.
There were about a dozen photographs on display to Davos attendees, depicting wounded civilians and destroyed buildings. There are increasing allegations of war crimes committed by Russian forces in the country, some of which have been Be recorded by international organizations such as Human Rights Watch.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations of war crimes and says it does not target civilians, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
The Russia House in Davos has been converted into the “House of Russian War Criminals”, where an exhibition of paintings shows alleged war crimes.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | beautiful pictures
“The Davos crowd isn’t used to this kind of reality… But they’re extremely sensitive to it, I think people are starting to realize what’s really happening in Ukraine, they’re starting to realize the brutality of How terrible is Russia on the ground,” said Geldhof.
Two Ukrainian women, who volunteered to help their troops but were in Davos, said the exhibition was nothing new to them. “We’re used to this,” Lana, 36, in military uniform, told CNBC.
She and her friend Ulyana are in Davos “to find some people who want to help Ukraine.” “We have little time [left]”Lana said.
The conflict has now entered its fourth month, with Kyiv asking Western nations for more heavy weapons to settle the fighting in the east of the country. The latest reports show that 38 towns were attacked in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions on Monday.
Olly, a 35-year-old Ukrainian man, was also in Davos to draw attention to what was happening back home.
“Ukraine should be on the agenda until the conflict is resolved. If Russia takes over Ukraine that would be a bad signal … it’s a bad signal for the whole world,” he said. Olly currently lives in Turkey with his parents, but his dream is to return home.
“I love my country,” he said. Asked what European leaders could do to further support Kyiv, he said: “ammunition.”
Zelenskyy’s speech
The words from the three Ukrainians followed a speech that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave to the elite in Davos on Monday via video link.
Zelenskyy said he was grateful for the support received so far, but called for more action such as forcing Moscow to help rebuild Ukraine. He said: “I invite you to participate in this rebuilding, the amount of work is huge, we have lost more than half a trillion dollars… we need to rebuild the whole city and industry. ,” he said.
The Ukrainian president suggested that if Western economies had punished Russia more effectively in 2014, after Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea, Ukraine would not have joined this war now.
Reacting to the speech among the Davos crowd in the Main Hall, one attendee, who did not wish to be named due to the sensitive nature of the situation, said Zelenskyy could not afford to disturb the WEF meeting because Private companies can play an important role. role in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Another attendee, Arshdeep Sethi, senior managing director of real estate company RMZ corp, said he appreciated Zelenskyy’s focus on practical solutions for reconstruction. “He knows [the] he said:
