Metro – The Underground Heart of Indomitable Ukraine
An international photo exhibition's more than 30 photographs tell not only of the resilience and invincible will to live of the Ukrainian people, but also of how the war in Ukraine is not just frontline reports but everyday reality for millions of Ukrainians who long for peace and are forced to live their daily lives underground.
The photo exhibition, initiated by the Kyiv City State Administration, invites visitors to have a look into the underground world of the Kyiv and Dnipro metros where time seems to stand still, even though everyday life continues amid the ongoing war. In war-torn Ukraine, the metro is not just a transport infrastructure, but a place of refuge where ordinary Ukrainians try to live their daily lives in completely abnormal conditions in the here and now. Here, train carriages serve as temporary homes and station platforms become improvised schools or concert halls. Children and parents, the elderly, and even four-legged friends and their owners seek shelter here from the bombings. In Ukraine, the metro has become a hospital, an educational institution, a place for prayer, and a temporary home where a new way of life is born amid the rumbling of trains.
The exhibition Metro – The Underground Heart of Indomitable Ukraine is on display at Museum Centre Vapriikki from 4 December 2025 to 1 February 2026. The exhibition features texts also in Ukrainian.