Through his art, Zinkivskyi is also rethinking Kharkiv’s cityscape as Ukrainians, in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, move to rid the former Soviet capital of Russian statues, street names and mosaics.
Just as Putin’s effort to reduce NATO’s presence on Russia’s borders led Finland and Sweden to seek to join the alliance, Russia’s war on Ukraine, including the bombing of predominantly Russian-speaking cities such as Mariupol and Kharkiv, has only pushed Ukrainians further away.
