Overview

• Ai Weiwei traveled to areas near Kharkiv, spending days with Ukrainian soldiers, drone operators, military leaders, and cultural figures including Pyotr Verzilov and Serhiy Zhadan.
• He shared uncaptions Instagram images showing soldiers in trenches, a Ukrainian flag, sunflowers, and Kharkiv’s Constructivist architecture, and he was photographed in a shirt marked “Khartiia.”
• Verzilov also posted photos and video from frontline positions, and he has been designated a terrorist and charged with state treason by Russian authorities.
• The visit precedes Ai’s Kyiv project, Three Perfectly Proportioned Spheres and Camouflage Uniforms Painted White, commissioned by Ribbon International and scheduled for Pavilion 13 from September 14 to November 30.
• The trip coincided with renewed Russian strikes in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia that killed civilians, with reports citing at least 10 to 14 deaths, as President Donald Trump pressed for a trilateral summit after meeting Vladimir Putin and hosting Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House.