Bird of Light Ukraine

30/06/2026

27/05/2026

“Empty Beds” featured in Kyiv Independent 📰

A new article by Kyiv Independent tells the story behind our installation “Empty Beds” — a child’s room that now travels across Europe to speak about Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

This project is about more than 20,000 children taken from their homes. About rooms left empty. About childhoods interrupted by war.

In the article, the Bird of Light Ukraine team shares how the project was created, why we built Artem’s room, and how “Empty Beds” has already been presented in Brussels, Luxembourg, and Rome — in places where decisions are made and where awareness can turn into action.

It is deeply important for us that international media continue to speak about this tragedy. Because as long as the world keeps seeing and talking about these children, they are not forgotten.

Thank you to Kyiv Independent for covering this story and helping amplify the voices of Ukrainian children.

🔗The article is available via the link in bio.

27/05/2026

“This is not an installation. It is evidence of a crime.”
— Ewa Kopacz and Andrzej Halicki speaking about Empty Beds in the European Parliament in Brussels.

20,000 Ukrainian children have disappeared.
Taken away. Separated from their families. Russified.

In the center of Europe stood their empty room.
And now it continues its journey across Europe so that more people do not remain indifferent to this tragedy.

This war is not only about the front line.
It is also about the theft of identity.

21/05/2026

Twenty years ago, a group of students in Chernivtsi made a simple choice — to come to class in a vyshyvanka.
No grand plan. No budget. Just a quiet statement that culture matters, even on an ordinary Thursday.
That Thursday changed everything.

Today, World Vyshyvanka Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries. By Ukrainians who never left, and by those who had to. By people who inherited their vyshyvanka, and by those who bought one for the first time this year. By children who don’t yet know all the history — but already feel that wearing it means something.

Because a vyshyvanka was never just a shirt.
It’s a genetic code. A home you carry with you. A language without words. A thread that connects everyone who ever called themselves Ukrainian.

Happy Vyshyvanka Day.
Wear it proudly — wherever you are. 🌿

19/05/2026

Four years ago today, we registered Bird of Light Ukraine — on Vyshyvanka Day🌷
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We’ve always believed that wasn’t a coincidence. Because everything we do is rooted in Ukrainian identity, culture, and the will to build bridges — between Ukraine and the world that stands with her.
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That first day, we didn’t just sign papers. We distributed humanitarian aid to children and handed over ambulances. Because from day one, this was never just an organization. It was a commitment.
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Four years later — we’re still here. Still building. Still believing.
And we’re just getting started. 🕊️

18/05/2026

The story of Ukraine’s deported children is reaching more and more people.

Zhanna Galeeva, .galeyeva co-founder of Bird of Light Ukraine, spoke on Ukraine’s national telethon “Yedyni Novyny” (1+1) about the Empty Beds installation — and why art sometimes reaches where words alone cannot.

The installation has already visited the Luxembourg Parliament, the European Parliament, and the European Commission in Brussels. Each stop — a new conversation. Each conversation — a step toward accountability.

🔗 Watch the full interview in the video.

14/05/2026

A child’s room. A name. A story that belongs to thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia.

Empty Beds has traveled from Luxembourg to Brussels — and now to the European Commission. The installation turns a distant tragedy into a felt reality. And no one who has stepped inside has walked out the same.

During its journey, a Member of the European Parliament visited the room — and two days later, a resolution was drafted urging the EU to support the tracing and safe return of deported Ukrainian children. A week later, it was approved in Strasbourg. Almost unanimously.

We are grateful to the European Commission , B&K Agency .co, the Ombudsman of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets , Bring Kids Back , and to Isaac Young — co-founder of BOLU — the person who first imagined this room into existence.
Until all of our children come home — to a free, safe and beloved Ukraine. 🇺🇦

13/05/2026

On 11 May 2026, “Empty Beds” stood inside the European Commission in Brussels — at the High-Level Meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

World leaders, diplomats, and representatives from dozens of countries gathered to discuss the fate of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children deported by Russia.
And right there, among political speeches and official meetings, was a child’s empty room.

“Empty Beds” is a reminder that behind every number is a real childhood interrupted by war. A bed left untouched. Clothes left behind. Silence where life used to be.

The installation became part of an international call not to look away from the forced deportation and russification of Ukrainian children — and not to let the world get used to it.

Because children are not statistics.
And empty beds should never become normal.

11/05/2026

Today, May 11, 2026, world leaders meet
at the European Commission to decide the
fate of 20,000+ Ukrainian children deported by Russia.

The meeting brings together EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, and ministers and officials from coalition countries.

Empty Beds here to.

📍A life sized replica of an abducted Ukrainian child’s bedroom - built from their testimonies - standing inside the Berlaymont as the decisions are made.

The installation meticulously recreates the personal space left behind by a deported Ukrainian child.

The children need more than words.
They need action. Now.