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.
The virtual reality exhibition “War Up Close” premiered at Old Dominion University in December. (Image courtesy of the exhibition)

, Communications Specialist