The horrendous pictures of the dead bodies of civilians, hands tied behind their backs, lying in the streets of Bucha, that emerged after the withdrawal of the Russian army from the Ukrainians town, horrified the world and it accused Russia of committing war crimes. The local authorities say more than 300 people were killed and buried in a mass grave near a church in Bucha during the Russian occupation, another mass grave of 57 innocent victims has been found.
On the night of April 3, when world media were releasing the horrific pictures of the massacre in Bucha, foremost Bulgarian animator Theodore Ushev posted, on social media, a drawing depicting the horror of what is happening.
The picture is of the eye of a child, in which the distorted face of his killer is reflected – a Russian soldier, branded with a Z that has become the official symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Within hours the drawing went viral, it was shared thousands of times with innumerable comments calling for an immediate end to the massacre in Ukraine.
Talking to public service TV BNT, visibly upset, Theodore Ushev commented:
“I sat down and did the drawing quite spontaneously, and I was thinking it would be easy. I sat down without any idea, and all the time I was drawing the poster my hands were shaking. That is a first for me. For the first time I felt helpless. I want keep my silence in memory of the innocent victims massacred – of the children, the women, the old people who, just one month before that had been leading normal lives. I have always been an optimist, I have always thought art can change the world, but at this time all I feel is absolute despair and helplessness that art may be able to change things,” Theo Ushev said.
The influential animator is well known for his active citizenship on an array of important issues. Some time ago Theo posted, on social media, a drawing of the eyes of the doctors taking care of him in a hospital Covid ward. The drawing went viral immediately, and was put up on dozens of billboards throughout Sofia as a gesture of gratitude to all front line medics in the fight against Covid-19.
Compiled by Veneta Nikolova
Photos courtesy of the artist and BGNES
People are increasingly freeing up space for technology that they manage and keep under control. Artificial intelligence is quickly settling into this shared space. AI has been entering classrooms in recent years to bring the..
Today, 2 April, on Autism Awareness Day, the Burgas Bridge will be illuminated in blue as a sign of empathy, the Municipality of Burgas announced. The day was established in 2007 by the UN General Assembly to ensure that every society creates..
April 1 was declared International Bird Day in 1906, under the International Convention for the Protection of Birds. The date symbolizes mankind's responsibility for the conservation and preservation of wildlife. Today, 119 years after its..
This year, Orthodox and Catholic Christians will celebrate the Resurrection of Christ togethe r. On the same date, the entire Christian world will turn..
Sugar artist Mariya Ozturk's latest masterpiece - a model of St Peter's Basilica in Rome - prompted us to reach out to our fellow Bulgarian during the..
The Bulgarian-American Cultural Association “Rosa” in Atlanta invited our compatriots to celebrate Easter today from 1:00 p.m. local time at..
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Partly Cloudy
Clear
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Mostly Cloudy