Yuliya Faccin is an art historian and painter born in Kharkiv. After living in Kyiv, she has been living in Livorno since 2022. After the beginning of the large-scale war, she continued her cultural and popular activities in Italy, curating exhibitions and art projects.

These include the photographic exhibition ‘Guardians of Life 4.5.0’, dedicated to the Ukrainian volunteer paramedics of the Hospitallers organisation, which through pictures and testimonies recounts medical evacuations in combat zones and helps to promote awareness of the human dimension of the conflict.

The origin of an exhibition between two countries and a war

How did the idea of dedicating an exhibition to Ukrainian volunteer paramedics come about?

The idea for this project was born some time ago, but I started realising it in June 2025. I have been volunteering since 2014 and, after 2022, when due to the escalation of the war my family and I found ourselves first in Milan and then in Livorno, my life was divided between two countries: Ukraine and Italy.

During one of my trips to Kyiv, I met the Hospitallers again and asked myself: “What more can I do to help?” Being an art historian and art manager, I proposed doing the exhibition and presenting it in Italy and Europe. They accepted and supported the idea: that is how I chose the title ‘Guardians of Life 4.5.0’.

What does 4.5.0 mean?

4.5.0 is a military code for ‘All is well. All alive.” My brother and nephew, like the other guys in the army, often don’t have time to reply to our “How are you?” messages, so they respond quickly with these digits.

From that moment on, a great deal of work began. Imagine collecting materials for an art exhibition. In this case, however, it was even more difficult, almost impossible: we are talking about people who stand at the epicentre of danger every day to defend and save the lives of others.

Telling the real Ukraine beyond propaganda

What was the moment when you realised that this project had to become public in Italy as well?

This project was created specifically for Italy. Why? Because I see that, in Italy, there has unfortunately been strong Russian propaganda for decades that uses culture and art as instruments of a hybrid war. And they already physically bring this real war here. This sort of tolerance, this ‘whitening’ of Russian war crimes through their culture, is a very serious mistake that makes the situation worse.

It was obvious to me from the beginning: it is necessary to tell the true Ukrainian culture, show its strength and find support.

Photography as testimony and memory

Why did you choose photographic language as your main narrative form?

First of all – photography combines documentation and art. And I chose not only photography from the front: on the panels of the exhibition there are also their photos from civilian life and interviews with each girl, built around four main questions.

• Why did they make this choice?
• How did this experience change their worldview?
• What is the message they want to bring?
• What does the homeland, Ukraine, expressed in one word, mean to them?

In this way, it is no longer just photography, but a revelation of profound values, with which these people manage to get through the darkest times in which they live, becoming an example of humanity.

Lives suspended between normality and front

What kind of personal stories emerge from the interviews with the paramedics?

These stories are worth reading. Among the women there are top managers, students, a pensioner, a writer, a mother of four… There is a deceased girl, to whom we will always honour and remember – Mariia-Khrystyna Dvoinik (battle name ‘Alpaca’). These are truly different stories to reflect on, to think about the situation they find themselves in today – a situation that could also arrive here if we do not take care to help those who fight for just peace. And these stories invite us to ask ourselves: would we be able to find the strength within ourselves to face the same challenges if they were to arrive here too?

What common values did you find among these women?

This best reflects the Hospitallers‘ motto: For every life.

Is there an encounter that impressed you more than the others?

I would like to pay special attention to the story of Yana Zinkevych. She is not featured in the exhibition panels as a protagonist, but she is the founder and leader of the Hospitallers.

In 2014, when Yana was only 18 years old, she found herself under heavy bombardment in Pisky. At the time, there was still no real tactical medicine system. While hiding in a basement, a chaplain told those present about the medieval hospitaller knights who saved lives. At that moment, Yana made a promise: ‘If I survive, I will create an organisation that will save people.

• At 18, she became a unit commander.
• At the age of 19 he suffered a severe spinal cord injury. Doctors claimed that she would never walk or have children again.
• At the age of 20, despite all predictions, she became a mother.
• At 30, he leads hundreds of volunteers.

Since 2014, this organisation has saved more than 43,000 people. It receives no state support: it only works thanks to volunteers and donations from those who want to support it. Therefore, the purpose of this project is also to let people know that we are looking for support, from medicines to direct funding, to enable the Hospitallers to continue their work and have the necessary tools.

What role can art play in narrating a contemporary conflict?

Art plays a fundamental role in telling the story of a contemporary conflict because it manages to convey what numbers and news often cannot: emotions, personal experiences, values and resilience of the people involved. It tells the stories of those who experience war first hand, makes them tangible and helps the viewer to understand and empathise.

Understanding war to build European solidarity

How important is it to create awareness in Europe about the human dimension of war?

Showing these stories helps people to understand the concrete consequences of war and to feel that just peace and solidarity are not abstract concepts, but everyone’s responsibility.

What has been the Italian public’s reaction to the exhibition so far?

The impressions are strong! The audience is moved and sees not the numbers of war, but the real lives of people. This project is not just an exhibition: it also includes lectures with professors, writers, lawyers and prominent personalities, who tell different aspects of Ukrainian history and culture, creating an almost ‘3D’ experience of Ukraine.

Each city has its own particular format. In Livorno, for example, we organised two master classes for children, who created drawings inspired by Ukrainian ornaments, which were then sent to the front as a gesture of solidarity. There was also an opera concert by the singer Darina, who moved the audience.

In Pisa, with the support of the Municipality of Pisa and the Millecolori group, Yuliya Shevchuk – director of the charity foundation Hospitallers, who from Maidan and volunteer work went as far as medical evacuation in combat zones, being wounded twice – received the city’s honours, which have become a symbol of deep solidarity and sincere friendship between our peoples.

What are the next cities or contexts in which you would like to take the project?

The next stage of the project will be held on 25 March at the Collegio di Milano, with outstanding speakers:

• Oleksandra Matviichuk, lawyer and activist, heads the Centre for Civil Liberties, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022; documents war crimes and promotes democracy and human rights.
• Yaryna Grusha, writer and translator, teaches Ukrainian language and literature in Italy and promotes cultural dialogue between Ukraine and Italy.
• Tetiana “Rudi” Romaniuk, evacuation doctor of the Hospitallers organisation, one of the stars of the exhibition.
• And I, as art historian and curator of the project, will talk about Ukrainian culture, the stories of Hospitallers volunteers and exclusive testimonies.

The event will be held on 25 March 2026 at 21:00; in-presence will be reserved for students of the College, in English, while online participation is open to all after registering via the following link: https://it.surveymonkey.com/r/GuardiansOfLife_externals_25032026

Do you think it could evolve into other formats, such as a book, a documentary or an educational platform?

I want not only to take the project all over Italy, but to make it grow. We have already thought about the book, but we need funding. This project is also a voluntary work for me: if we find support, we have all the materials ready.

Today, the stories of these courageous women are our reality, but tomorrow they will become part of world history. Looking at these stories here in Italy, we can almost live these experiences together with them, if only for a moment, and pass on – especially to our children – values capable of profoundly changing the meaning of life.

International volunteers and human chains of solidarity

Volunteers from other European countries, including Italians, are also present in Ukraine. From your point of view, what is the significance of this international civil participation and how is it perceived by Ukrainian paramedics and society?

In Ukrainian society, there is a great respect for these people. So many Ukrainians are forced to fight, so foreigners who come voluntarily show much admired fortitude, a sense of justice and a desire to defend common values. This arouses esteem, respect and gratitude. We try to help the Italians in Ukraine in every possible way: even the smallest gesture is a sign of our thanks. On my part and that of my close friends, we always try to support the Italian volunteers, for example by providing them with Starlink or a lot of delicious Italian food, because this is also important.

I also remember a telling episode in Kyiv in May 2023: I was waiting with my husband for a heavy thunderstorm to end with other people in an underground passage. There was a soldier with a chevron with the Georgian flag on his uniform, next to the Ukrainian one. And two young boys aged 17-18. My husband and I approached him to thank him in his language; he shook our hands. A few minutes later, those boys saw our example and, checking on their mobile phones how to say it correctly, they too approached to thank him and shake his hand.

What do you think are the pillars that keep Ukrainian society alive today?

There are three elements that, in my opinion, represent the foundations of our society: the military (including the international ones) who protect us, the adults who thank and help them, and the children who learn from the examples of both. Being Human.

Today you too can become part of this chain of solidarity.

Art documents history, but your support creates it. Hospitallers exist as long as your trust in their extraordinary work exists. For every life – today and every day. Support those who save: https://www.hospitallers.charity/en/support/

Yuliya Faccin, author and curator of the project ‘Guardians of Life 4.5.0’, art historian.