In alignment with William & Mary’s Democracy Initiative, two events on campus this week will focus on the devastation wrought during the two-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and it has become a conflict “with no end in sight,” said Bella Ginzbursky-Blum, teaching professor of Russian studies and Russian Language House advisor.
“We hope that the two events we organized with partners from outside the university — our Russian European and Eurasian Students, colleagues at William & Mary Libraries and the Studio for Teaching and Learning Innovation — will bring Ukraine back into focus,” she said.
On Feb. 21, the PBS Frontline/AP News documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” will be shown in Washington Hall, room 201 at 5 p.m. This film is part of a student-run film series and will be introduced by Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, retired chargé d’affaires at the Ukraine embassy in Australia.
On Feb. 22, a virtual reality exhibition titled “War Up Close” will be displayed in the front lobby of Swem Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibit will feature 360-degree images and videos of the cities and towns affected by the conflict.
![A student views the virtual reality exhibition “War Up Close” at Old Dominion University.](https://wmit-news-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/19144527/War-up-close-ODU-720x463.jpg)
Jim Ducibella, Communications Specialist