An exhibition devoted to Ukrainian Resistance, State of Defiance, has debuted in Brussels. It tells the stories of activists living under russian occupation

A pop-up exhibition, focusing on the resilience and resistance of Ukrainians living under Russian occupation, took place in Brussels. It was organised by the Yellow Ribbon civil resistance movement.

The exhibition showed the history of the underground resistance movement. Yellow Ribbon activists operate in the face of Russian terror campaigns, which are designed to brutally suppress any pro-Ukrainian sentiment.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union Vsevolod Chentsov, President of the European Social and Economic Committee Christa Schweng, Member of the European Parliament Petras Auštrevičius, Member of the Belgian Parliament Georges Dallemagne and others.

Visitors in Brussels could discover the anonymous stories of Yellow Ribbon activists and see real artifacts from temporarily occupied territories: a fence from de-occupied Kherson inscribed with "Kherson is Ukraine," as well as interactive photos and videos of activists demonstrating the work of the movement. A special area of the exhibition was dedicated to a poster drawn on the cover of a child's sketchbook by an activist. Many of these stories had never been told before the event. 

"More than 100,000 square kilometers of Ukraine are now occupied by Russians. 1877 settlements are still under occupation. Unfortunately, this number often remains abstract to foreigners. This can be changed by stories of specific people from Yellow Ribbon who are living in the temporarily occupied territories. Art is a powerful tool that helps to inform Europeans about the horrors that are happening in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion. Thousands of brave people are fighting against the huge ideological bubble in which Russian propaganda is investing millions. Yellow Ribbon is a symbol of Ukrainians' indomitability," said Vsevolod Chentsov, Head of the mission of Ukraine to the European Union.

"Ukrainian territories were occupied but not conquered by occupiers. And it's a great honor to recognize those Ukrainians, who are in deed, the best example of the civic society, since they resist, they fight and they promote the idea of free and democratic Ukraine. Imagine – yellow ribbon, what kind of meaning it might have. But for occupiers it's a symbol of strong, resilient Ukrainian state, nation, soul. And one innocent drawing of the yellow ribbon brigs fear, certanity and disillusion for the russian occupiers",said Petras Auštryavičius,  a member of the European Parliament.

"Over a year ago, Ukrainians in Kherson were watching  russian troops, memorizing their routes and counting their numbers. Three weeks later, the first rally, attended by 500 people, would take place in Kherson. It was this rally that was brutally dispersed by the National Guard of russia, subsequently launching the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement. Could we have imagined that in 7 months, Kherson would be liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a year later, an exhibition dedicated to the resistance of Ukrainians in the occupied territories would be held in Brussels? With  Yellow Ribbon in its center? It is an honour to speak to you here, in the heart of free Europe, on behalf of the brave people who put justice before their own safety". said Valeria, a Yellow Ribbon civil movement speaker.

Yellow Ribbon is a civil resistance movement that was formed after February the 24th, 2022, in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, alongside other territories under temporary russian occupation. Currently, more than 8,000 activists have joined the movement, providing informational resistance to the occupation regime.