Rubryka reporter’s photos presented in Ukrainian pavilion at COP28 Climate Summit

Ukraine has showcased its pavilion at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), marking its second participation in history. The pavilion highlights the scale of environmental damage caused by the war, including the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) by the Russian forces. The display features photographs by Rubryka's photo correspondent Mykola Tymchenko, who promptly documented the aftermath of the tragedy by traveling to Kherson.

The theme of Ukraine's pavilion aligns with the 8th point of this formula — "Environmental Security." The Ukrainian pavilion's exhibition consists of three thematic blocks:

• In the "Kakhovka" block, the focus is on the Russian forces blowing up the Kakhovka HPP dam on June 6 this year.
• The "Consequences" block provides information about the damage inflicted by the ongoing war each day.
• In the "Recovery" block, the exhibition demonstrates how Ukrainians strive to quickly revive what has been destroyed.

A central installation in the pavilion, named "Roof," is dedicated to the tragedy of Ukrainian people losing homes due to flooding. To create it, organizers brought tiles from the Kherson region, whose residents suffered from the dam explosion and flooding that followed.

These Rubryka photos can be viewed in the Ukrainian pavilion:

The pavilion also features samples of burnt wheat and corn, serving as a reminder of the importance of food security. There are also panels depicting Ukrainian black soil after field fires caused by shelling.

One of the pavilion's key messages is that Ukraine is building its future despite the war. Visitors to the exhibition can learn the stories of Ukrainians restoring parks, cities, and agricultural lands and explore Ukraine's recovery plan involving 850 large-scale projects over the next ten years. Priority programs include "Rebuilding a Clean and Protected Environment," "Energy Independence," and the "Green Course," as disclosed by the Ministry of Ecology.

Teams from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, with support from the European Union, the Federal Government of Germany, IKI, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), UNDP Ukraine, the UN Global Compact, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Reform and Architecture Program in Ukraine), collaborated on the pavilion. The concept was developed by the Gres Todorchuk agency in cooperation with the architectural office "FORMA" and the Ukrainian production agency how.production.

The Ukrainian pavilion at COP28 in Dubai will be open until December 12. 

Photos of the Ukrainian pavilion at COP28 are provided by the organizers

Also, read Rubryka's reports from the flooded Kherson in June 2023:

• Underwater: What is happening in flooded Kherson and how people and animals evacuate
• "We don't give up": how flooded Sadove in Ukraine's Kherson region lives under and above water
• How Kherson lives on the fourth day of the great flood