The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK has opened an exhibition about the Russia-Ukraine war at the Tank Museum in Dorset.
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, a four-star general and former chief of staff of his country’s armed forces, also offered his uniform to the museum.
The exhibition, Ukraine: Armoured Warfare in the Modern World, includes possessions of refugees who fled their country after the Russian invasion in 2022.
Zaluzhnyi thanked the British people for their “support, solidarity and true friendship” and also mentioned the anniversary of the liberation of the city of Chernihiv in norther Ukraine.
“The city became a symbol of resilience,” Zaluzhnyi. “It was surrounded, cut off from communication, lacking weapons – but full of faith in freedom. Chernihiv held out because it was defended by ordinary Ukrainians: volunteers, members of the territorial defence and soldiers. Armed not only with rifles but with unbreakable spirit.
“The same spirit is what this exhibition represents. Not technology for its own sake, but armour that became a shield to protect human life.”
Tank Museum director Chris Price said: “It was a great privilege to have the Ukrainian ambassador open our new exhibition. After looking around the exhibits he met some Ukrainian refugees and was clearly moved.”
The Tank Museum at Bovington cares for more than 300 tanks from 26 nations. It welcomed more than 220,00 visitors in 2023, its 100thanniversary year.