On the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II, Ambassador of Ukraine to Estonia Maksym Kononenko took part in the opening of the exhibition "Mom, I Don't Want War!" which began its work at Riigikogu (the Parliament of Estonia).
The exhibition presents drawings depicting the horrors of war. Part of the exhibition consists of drawings by Polish children, created in 1946, depicting their experiences during World War II and the German occupation from 1939 to 1945. The other part of the exhibition showcases drawings by Ukrainian children, which they created after 2022 during the ongoing full-scale war of russia against Ukraine.
During the opening of the exhibition, Ambassador Maksym Kononenko noted: «For me, the exhibition «Mom, I Don’t Want War!» is about that: about analogies and about empathy. World War II and the Russian-Ukrainian war are different: different aggressors, different victims, different reasons for conflict, different technological levels of mutual destruction. But what remains the same is the evil that war brings to ordinary people, destroying their normal, everyday lives. It’s about loved ones we’ll never hug again, friends with whom we’ll never attend a party or play Scrabble, beloved ones with whom we’ll never embark on a honeymoon to the ends of the Earth… Children, with their hypersensitivity and direct perception, become the first victims of war. They have no filters. War imprints itself into their consciousness, leaving indelible traces. Polish children carried these wounds and scars throughout their lives. Ukrainian children will also bear them until death».
The Ambassador also emphasized that the main lesson of World War II is that evil, in whatever form it takes, can only be countered by unity. «Only the united forces of the allies could defeat Hitler. I am convinced that only a united democratic world can stop Russian aggression and defeat Putin.
Today, Ukraine is showing the way to such unity. We have proposed holding the First Peace Summit for Ukraine. It will take place on June 15-16 this year in Switzerland. This summit is not only for those who support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and independence, but primarily for all those who do not want war, for those who aspire to leave grief, blood, and tears only in archival photographs and drawings. Let us unite our efforts today so that unlearned lessons of history do not punish us and our children tomorrow!»
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, President of the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia, Lauri Hussar, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and members of the Ukrainian community were present. The exhibition was opened with the support of the Embassy of the United States in Estonia and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Estonia, in cooperation with the Office of the Riigikogu of Estonia.
The exhibition will be open until June 14, 2024. You can attend it on working days from 10:00 a.m. to 16:00 p.m. To enter Toompea Castle, you must have an ID with you.