Over 100,000 Lives Saved: “Chronicles of Evacuation” Exhibition Opens in Mykolaiv

On July 28, the EAST SOS Charity Foundation opened the documentary photo exhibition “Chronicles of Evacuation” at the Central City Library named after M. L. Kropyvnytskyi. Through the lenses of international and Ukrainian photographers, the exhibition captures moments from the frontline evacuation missions carried out by the EAST SOS team. The exhibition is open to visitors through August 17 inclusively.

The opening brought together the EAST SOS regional team, including Yuliia Chokas, Manager in Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts, and Roman Matsevko, the EAST SOS Safety Specialist. They shared memories from evacuation missions during the response to the aftermath of the Kakhovka HPP destruction by russian forces in 2023, as well as other rescue stories documented by international photographers and volunteers.

“What stays with you most is not the routes, but the people. I remember a young man from Kherson Oblast whom my colleague and I evacuated. He was studying IT and dreamed of getting back on his feet. From Odesa, where we evacuated him, he had a long road ahead to Japan. There, the young man was to receive modern prosthetics. This is proof that evacuation is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new, difficult chapter in life, and our team remains by people’s side during it,” Roman shared.

We are grateful to the Central City Library named after M. L. Kropyvnytskyi for its hospitality and for giving these stories a space. We invite everyone to visit the exhibition and get to know the stories of people for whom evacuation became the beginning of a new path. This exhibition is especially meaningful for Mykolaiv Oblast. Every day, the region supports people fleeing from frontline areas, including from neighboring Kherson Oblast.

“We often talk about the evacuation itself. But for someone going through it, it is the beginning of a new life. What matters most is knowing that after this journey, they will not be left alone with their difficulties,” Yuliia Chokas said.

Previously, the exhibition has been presented at major international events in Kyiv, in seven Ukrainian cities, and abroad, in particular in Warsaw. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, our team has helped evacuate more than 97,000 people, including 16,000 people with limited mobility.

The “Chronicles of Evacuation” exhibition is implemented as part of the project “MESH: Multisectoral Emergency Support for High-Severity Hromadas” by the EAST SOS Charity Foundation, coordinated by the Right to Protection Charitable Foundation and supported by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF).